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My Genome, My Self?
theodp writes "After baring his DNA for the world to see, Steven Pinker follows up in the NYT Magazine with his take on the coming era of consumer genetics. Pinker comes away less wide-eyed than Time Magazine about the current predictive ability of $399 genetic tests, but is convinced enough to opt out of learning whether he has a gene that increases the risk of Alzheimer's and believes that genetic-testing-for-the-masses may hasten the arrival of national health insurance ('piecemeal insurance is not viable in a world in which insurers can cherry-pick the most risk-free customers'). Pinker believes that personal genomics is just too much fun to ban, but for now suggests: 'if you want to know whether you are at risk for high cholesterol, have your cholesterol measured; if you want to know whether you are good at math, take a math test.'"
If we're testing everyone for everything, and covering their health costs...
I don't want my tax dollars supporting the breeding of people who will put an unfair load on the medical system.
Why would Pinker choose not to know whether he has the Alzheimer's gene or not? It seems to me that knowing the answer to that implied question is a win-win: if he DOESN'T have the gene then attempting to divine the answer to the question out of thin air will no longer keep him awake at night, and if he HAS the gene he'll soon enough forget that fact and every other sodding thing that isn't relevant to breathing.