> If you haven't watched it since HS like most people, I'd encourage you to watch it again.
Just did, available on Amazon Prime for streaming. Just as good as I remembered.
> There is nothing noble about hiding a heart condition in order to become a crucial member on an expedition that will almost certainly kill you.
There's something disgusting about telling people what they can and can't do without actually testing whether they can do it or not.
You see, when you test actual ability, you're confirming an almost infinite amount of data points all at once. Your picture is complete and no understanding is necessary. It's a binary proposition. You either can or can't.
When you test for a genetic disposition ... it's just that. A disposition. You're testing only a single data point. That data point might be very important ... or it might not. Either way, it's a terrible way to determine actual ability.
He wasn't negligent in the slightest. It was all the useless genetic testing. They should have been testing his ability. If they did that, there wouldn't be a movie or anything to be outraged over.
> On top of that the distopia just ended up feeling shallow.
The movie is over 20 years old. I'd say it held up as well as could be expected.
> We're never given any reason as to why society drops any pretense at meritocracy just because of the availability of genetically optimized babies
Laziness. Why go through the trouble of testing ability, which is very hard ... vs pressing a button on a computer?
> The most major discrimination is that a space flight agency doesn't want an astronaut with a high probability of dieing mid mission.
The movie made it clear that this discrimination was pervasive in every walk of life ... which makes sense. Why hire a genetically inferior person if you can determine that through the press of a button?
> That's not only perfectly reasonable it's also what we do now.
No we don't. We do actual physical testing. We set up physical parameters that the person must clearly demonstrate. I mean, that's why they call it a physical.
> Vincent never would be allowed on a NASA space flight anymore than he should have been allowed on the GATTACA flight.
No, he wouldn't. You're right. Because he's myopic. Which by the way, is not a genetically inherited defect, although it was thought to be at the time the movie was made.
But if the assumption that genetics played a part in myopia was perpetuated in the future as it is in the movie, that would be a truly sad state of affairs.
You would have people being discriminated against for no valid rational reason. That's the point of this movie. Genetics very rarely determine a certainty. Merely a probability.
> Gattaca is a film everyone should see if only to understand that the lay person has no business weighing in on issues of scientific ethics.
Wow. I don't think scientists should have a monopoly on ethics. Pass.
Just did, available on Amazon Prime for streaming. Just as good as I remembered.
> There is nothing noble about hiding a heart condition in order to become a crucial member on an expedition that will almost certainly kill you.
There's something disgusting about telling people what they can and can't do without actually testing whether they can do it or not.
You see, when you test actual ability, you're confirming an almost infinite amount of data points all at once. Your picture is complete and no understanding is necessary. It's a binary proposition. You either can or can't.
When you test for a genetic disposition ... it's just that. A disposition. You're testing only a single data point. That data point might be very important ... or it might not. Either way, it's a terrible way to determine actual ability.
He wasn't negligent in the slightest. It was all the useless genetic testing. They should have been testing his ability. If they did that, there wouldn't be a movie or anything to be outraged over.
> On top of that the distopia just ended up feeling shallow.
The movie is over 20 years old. I'd say it held up as well as could be expected.
> We're never given any reason as to why society drops any pretense at meritocracy just because of the availability of genetically optimized babies
Laziness. Why go through the trouble of testing ability, which is very hard ... vs pressing a button on a computer?
> The most major discrimination is that a space flight agency doesn't want an astronaut with a high probability of dieing mid mission.
The movie made it clear that this discrimination was pervasive in every walk of life ... which makes sense. Why hire a genetically inferior person if you can determine that through the press of a button?
> That's not only perfectly reasonable it's also what we do now.
No we don't. We do actual physical testing. We set up physical parameters that the person must clearly demonstrate. I mean, that's why they call it a physical.
> Vincent never would be allowed on a NASA space flight anymore than he should have been allowed on the GATTACA flight.
No, he wouldn't. You're right. Because he's myopic. Which by the way, is not a genetically inherited defect, although it was thought to be at the time the movie was made.
But if the assumption that genetics played a part in myopia was perpetuated in the future as it is in the movie, that would be a truly sad state of affairs.
You would have people being discriminated against for no valid rational reason. That's the point of this movie. Genetics very rarely determine a certainty. Merely a probability.
> Gattaca is a film everyone should see if only to understand that the lay person has no business weighing in on issues of scientific ethics.
Wow. I don't think scientists should have a monopoly on ethics. Pass.