Slashdot Mirror
Give Your Child the Gift of an Alzheimer's Diagnosis
theodp writes "'There's a lot you can do for your child with 99 dollars,' explains Fast Company's Elizabeth Murphy, who opted to get her adopted 5-year-old daughter's genes tested by 23andMe, a startup founded by Anne Wojcicki that's been funded to the tune of $126 million by Google, Sergey Brin (Wojcicki's now-separated spouse), Yuri Milner, and others. So, how'd that work out? 'My daughter,' writes Murphy, 'who is learning to read and tie her shoes, has two copies of the APOE-4 variant, the strongest genetic risk factor for Alzheimer's. According to her 23andMe results, she has a 55% chance of contracting the disease between the ages of 65 and 79.' So, what is 23andMe's advice for the worried Mom? 'You have this potential now to engage her in all kinds of activities,' said Wojcicki. 'Do you get her focused on her exercise and what she's eating, and doing brain games and more math?' Duke associate professor of public policy Don Taylor had more comforting advice for Murphy. 'It's possible the best thing you can do is burn that damn report and never think of it again,' he said. 'I'm just talking now as a parent. Do not wreck yourself about your 5-year-old getting Alzheimer's. Worry more about the fact that when she's a teenager she might be driving around in cars with drunk boys.'"
The gift to my kid would be for me to get the test, never tell a soul about it, and make plans to deal with Alzheimer's if I'm going to get it.
"Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past." -- George Orwell
I agree with latter-quoted guy: there's a HUGE business out of exploiting the (natural) fears of new parents. I have 4 kids, and our level of paranoia on the first one was crazy.
The idea that you need to drop $100 to see if there's any likelihood that your kid will eventually contract Alzheimers is ludicrous.
- there's no certainty about these numbers, it's about as reliable as the weather
- even if they WERE reliable, there's no firm understanding of genetic vs environmental factors
- and even if there was a firm understanding, there are no developed therapies/routines that are known to have ANY impact on long term development of the condition.
This is just marketing FUD to paranoid parents. BELIEVE ME, you're going to have about a million other far more immediate concerns getting your kids to the point where they move out on their own, and thereafter.
Personally, I'd be flipping delighted if someone could guarantee to me that my kids will live long enough for Alzheimers to be of the faintest relevance. Seriously.
-Styopa
Do you really need to know your child is at risk of Alzheimer's before you decide to teach them healthy habits and encourage brain activity?
Then newsflash: you may be a really shitty parent.
The advice "carpe diem" ("seize the day") is as good now as it was 2000 years ago when Horace wrote those words.
The advice "carpe diem" meant something different 2000 years ago when Horace wrote those words. Then, he wrote "carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero" -- or, as your translation states, "seize the day, trusting as little as possible in the next". His meaning was more along the lines of the ant vs the grasshopper in Aesop's fable. Seize the day, prepare for your future, work while you're healthy, make hay while the sun shines, and pack your 401k with as much as you can afford (or at least enough to get your full company match). Make sure your future is secure today, because you don't know what'll happen to you tomorrow.
Nowadays, "carpe diem" is usually interpreted to mean something akin to your post. Go see the world, party with your friends, have a great time, even YOLO. It can still be good advice (you might get Alzheimer's when you're 50, so see the world today while you can appreciate it) but the fact remains that the meaning of the exhortation has changed in the modern era.