Could Colorblindness Cure Be Morally Wrong?

destinyland writes "One in 12 men suffers from colorblindness, though '[t]he good news here is that these folks are simply missing a patch of DNA ... which is just the kind of challenge this Millennium is made for. Enter science.' But NPR's Moira Gunn (from Biotech Nation) now asks a provocative question. Is it wrong to cure colorblindness? She reports on an experiment that used a virus to introduce corrective DNA into colorblind monkeys. ('It took 20 weeks, but eventually the monkeys started distinguishing between red and green.') Then she asks, could it be viewed differently? 'Are we trying to 'normalize' humans to a threshold of experience?'"

Comments

Re:WTF? Just ask the patient.

[Robin47]

I think we might be missing the point. I read it as "Maybe we shouldn't have the cure available because it would be morally wrong." That strikes me as a lot more ominous.

I'm deaf and they are researching a similar cure for my condition. I can't wait to hear again. But what if they decided it would be wrong to change me from the way my genetic makeup made me? Or maybe the people in a third world country shouldn't be helped to advance because they would loose their heritage? In each case, the people should have the right to decide their fate. Just my opinion but interesting question.

Re:The Qualia beast raises its head again

[eh2o]

The answer is they have extra depth, actually extra spectral resolution.

Color perception is a byproduct of the retina being stimulated with a particular spectral distribution of light. Its a spectral sampling, much like how the ear samples the spectral distribution of sound, but a totally different method and with much much lower resolution.

We all see the same spectra, some people get more or less information than others. Mainly this manifests in differences in discrimination ability between colors as well as disagreement about what constitutes a "color match" between observers that are getting different information.

Debating about what this maps to in the head is mostly an exercise in mental masturbation, the brain simply integrates available information in a statistically optimal fashion.

Of course a non-colourblind person would ask this

[Kryptonut]

Those of us that ARE colourblind would LOVE to have it corrected. People don't realise how much of an impact it can have.

I work in IT, not because it's what I dreamt of doing as a kid, but because I wasn't allowed to be a Pilot, a Captain (my father used to drive tugboats for a living) or even a Police officer.

If you haven't experienced it first hand, then you have no right to question whether people who do experience it every single day of their lives, should be "allowed" to change it.

I want the same employment opportunities as everyone else, and I want my nephew (son of my sister) to have the same employment opportunities as everyone else too, whether he's inherited the gene or not as well.

/rant

Re:WTF? Just ask the patient.

[TapeCutter]

"In my opinion (i am a physicist) the only good scientific field for highly functioning autists is math"

Temple Grandin would disagree, she is autistic and the worlds foremost expert on animal handling facilities. She is known as the woman who thinks like a cow because she believes her autisim gives her insights into animal behaviour.