Benjamin, this afternoon, told me that scientists had inserted a gene into mouse DNA that made them much smarter than ordinary mice, and there was speculation that the same thing could be done with people, and make human beings that were far more intelligent than people now, new babies, he emphasized. Not make people now smarter. He wanted to know if I thought that was "fair."
"Fair to present-day humans, you mean?"
"Yes, to have people that were so much smarter than we are."
He looked thoughtful, as if his world-view had been shaken by the idea of humans smarter than him or any of his friends.
I said, "well, I don't suppose the Neanderthals liked it when we showed up."
I don't think that satisfied him, he went away with a thoughtful look on his face. |
