It's Always Good To Have Choices
This is a short guide to some questions that you should consider before meeting with your genetic architect. If you intend to combine your genetic material with others, we encourage you to discuss these questions with any co-parents in advance.
Capital Thinking · Issue #1006 · View online
Congratulations on your decision to procreate!
This is a short guide to some questions that you should consider before meeting with your genetic architect.
If you intend to combine your genetic material with others, we encourage you to discuss these questions with any co-parents in advance.
6 Things to Think About When Designing Your Child
Designing your child is designing the future. Do it wisely.
Here are some questions you should consider:
Size: While it is possible in principle for children to be a continuum of sizes from miniatures to giants, public infrastructure is optimized to support only the three most common sizes: small, classic, and large.
Half-sized children are by far the most economical. These small kids, or “demis,” consume less than one quarter of the resources of classics.
They can live in split-floor housing and take advantage of split-seat transportation. Also, their shorter neurons allow them to think faster.
Large children, or “supers,” are also a popular choice, especially for parents who value athletic performance. Keep in mind, however, that their advantages in physical power come with greater needs for space and other resources.
Supers can also be a challenge to raise, especially for small and classic-sized parents. If you’re living in a city with older infrastructure, or if you value a traditional lifestyle, a classic-sized child may still be your best choice.
Additional appendages: While some parents still opt for the traditional pair of five-fingered hands, we recommend that you consider at least one additional appendage.
Prehensile tails have pluses and minuses, but there is very little downside to an extra set of fingers or a few small tentacles. Studies have shown that children without these features often wish they had them.
Mental predispositions: Choosing your child’s brain type requires some trade-offs.
For instance, every parent would like their child to be good at abstract thinking and have high sensory awareness, but these two traits fundamentally compete with each other.
The same can be said for emotional and rational intelligence, self-discipline and spontaneity, loyalty and open-mindedness.
Our general recommendation is not to push for extremes and strive for a balance. While it is true that people with atypical minds make some of the greatest contributions to science, art, literature, music, and politics, these people are generally not the happiest.
If you are concerned that your child will be lonely, consider clones.
Accessories: Wings, tusks, antlers, and trunks are generally not recommended.Extra eyes, redundant internal organs, extended range vision and hearing, cyber interfaces, and extended memory are all worth considering.
If you live an aquatic lifestyle, webbing and fins are a must. Gills can extend submersion time, but they are not as useful as extra lung capacity, and they are difficult to keep clean.
Echolocation is another popular accessory. The only real limitation to accessorizing is neural bandwidth and metabolic consumption.Your genetic architect will help you find a workable combo.
Gender: Deciding whether to install a Y-chromosome is just the beginning.
Danny Hillis