Genetically altering IQ is more or less about flipping a sufficient number of IQ-decreasing variants to their IQ-increasing counterparts. This sounds overly simplified, but it’s surprisingly accurate; most of the variance in the genome is linear in nature, by which I mean the effect of a gene doesn’t usually depend on which other genes are present

Contradicted by previous text in the same article (diabetes), not to mention have you even opened a college-level genetics text in the last decade?

Anyway, I would encourage these people to flip their own genome a lot, except that they probably won't take the minimum necessary precautions of doing so under observation in isolation. "Science is whatever people in white coats say it is, and I bought a nice white coat off Amazon!"

[–] mawhrin@awful.systems 12 points 11 months ago (1 children)

most of the variance in the genome is linear in nature, by which I mean the effect of a gene doesn’t usually depend on which other genes are present

that person seems homeschooled on absolute bullshit; basic high school biology course thirty-odd years ago was saying otherwise.

[–] self@awful.systems 11 points 11 months ago

that person seems homeschooled on absolute bullshit

the yudkowsky tradition! cause skimming a book and reconstructing the rest of the knowledge on your gut feelings is a perfectly good substitute for going to fucking school, Eliezer

[–] Umbrias 6 points 11 months ago

Meanwhile actual discussions about biotech are more like

"Is it feasible to get widespread changes in an organism we want or are biological systems hopelessly and fundamentally complex making this impossible?"

The contrast amuses me.