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by Jtsummers
3556 days ago
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> Primarily because the "genetically inferior" person somehow had more motivation and drive than the genetically engineered ones. One thing he had over most of the "valids" was the opportunity to choose his path. The valids' parents made choices for them (Jerome was made to be a swimmer, the 12-fingered pianist, etc.). It's not wholly different than seeing a child prodigy fail as a functioning adult. They don't all, but many times when someone excels in youth in some activity and is pushed into it by the adults in their lives, a failure later leads to an inability to redirect their energy and lives (for extended periods, they become depressed). They existed for a singular purpose for so long and aren't capable (emotionally, mentally) of dealing with the freedom to choose what to do next. Vincent's character possessed drive for several reasons: 1) he was better than his brother as a swimmer/athlete, and so knew that his in-valid status was nonsense; 2) he was resentful of being shunned by both his parents and society, and motivated by that; 3) as an in-valid, he had no purpose in life, so once he chose one, he put everything into it. The valids who still possessed their potential were similarly motivated with regard to their goals. |
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For me the message seemed to be "don't do generic engineering because it cannot beat motivation" which discounts the potential overlap between the two and also undersells the potential gains of genetic engineering.
What if his competitors were 10x smarter and 10x faster swimmers than he was as well as being equally motivated?