Three Blind Phreaks

Post writes "'When they dial, they use the middle finger.' - Wired's story about three sightless brothers who 'have devoted their lives to proving they can out-think, out-program, and out-hack anyone with vision.'"

Comments

Leet..

[grub]

... but how do they manage with the pr0n?

Why are genetically defective people breeding?

[fmaxwell]

From the Wired story:

Ramy, along with two of his three brothers, has been blind since birth due to a genetic defect.

I can understand the first kid coming out blind, but when that happened, the parents should have stopped breeding. Now there are three more genetically defective people who can keep those defective genes into the gene pool. It's this kind of stupidity that's weakening the human race. Before "civilization", nature would weed out genetic defects like that using starvation, wolves, lions, bears, etc. Now you have people perpetuating defective genetic lines just because they can.

I'm impressed with the three brothers and with their ability to compensate for their blindness, but at least two of them should never have been born.

Re:Why are genetically defective people breeding?

[fmaxwell]

They are not defective - they are the next stage in evolution. You are the ape.

Then I hope that one of these genetically superior beings becomes the driver of the short bus that takes you to school.

Re:Why are genetically defective people breeding?

[fmaxwell]

Now, you wouldn't be one to advocate eliminating the inferior?

No. I'm advocating that those with genetic defects adopt rather than breed.

I won't make a statement that would allow you to invoke Godwin's law, but I will suggest that you probably carry more than a few recessive genes that would call for your eradication. Or at least sterilization.

If I had the same genetic defect, recessive or not, that lead to the blindness of those boys, then, yes, sterilization would be appropriate.

Re:Why are genetically defective people breeding?

[fmaxwell]

And while eye-sight was required for survival centuries ago, intelligence is required to survive now. Evolution doesn't need these brothers to be weeded out.

And what will stop them from having blind children who are stupid?

Survival of the fittest means that if these brothers survive because of intelligence, then their lives are not worthless for the next generation of humans.

They are not surviving because of intelligence. They are surviving because society is providing for their needs. Are you suggesting that all blind people who live to a ripe old age are intelligent? Get real!

So go back to your cave, troll...

I am not a "troll." I am expressing my beliefs, which, apparently, others share.

Re:Why are genetically defective people breeding?

[fmaxwell]

What reason would "normal" people have to develop their abilities, like their intelligence, beyond than what would be considered "normal"? They definitely wouldn't contribute much, or anything interesting at least.

Yeah, think about what would Einstein, Plato, and Kasparov achieved if they had been born sighted. Oh, wait... They were.

Most people are driven to better themselves. They read challenging books, participate in difficult activities, whether mental or physical, and learn new skills. I did not decide to stop learning just because I reached "normal." Did you?

You are ignoring the big picture. What happens to the poor couple that gives birth to a child with Down's Syndrome, blindness, deafness, and a non-functional immune system because they happened to get the unlucky set of recessive genes together?

Re:Why are genetically defective people breeding?

[fmaxwell]

Deafness is a no brainer, right? What about diabetes? Heart disease? Depression? Allergies? Where is the rational point where the line is drawn? Or is it like porno; "I can't define it, but I know it when I see it?"

There is no black and white answer as you astutely point out. I would hope that parents would make ethical choices. If something is debillitating, then it should not be passed on. Mild allergies to seafood are not in that category. Allergies to peanuts that cause anaphylactic shock just from smelling peanuts probably is.

If I discovered that I had a gene for blindness, deafness, Down's Syndrome, Huntington's Disease, or SCID, then I would not pass that gene on. If I wanted a child, I would adopt.

Moderated -1 because /. is two weeks behind.

[PHAEDRU5]

What a collection of fascist morons.