Michael Andreucci
Why Genetic Engineering?
Think of any modern city in the world today. Thought of one? Now imagine it without any skyscrapers, sewage systems, highways and streets, light fixtures, and houses. That would turn the city into, well not much of a city. Without engineers the world would be drastically different and would not be anywhere near as advanced as it is today.
Ever since I was a kid, my strong subjects have been math and science. In primary school I was placed in an accelerated math class with some other classmates of mine and ever since then i’ve further developed my love for math ever since. As a child I thoroughly enjoyed building things like lego structures and complex infrastructure in Minecraft.
After growing up a bit I began to apply my love for building into more advanced things like constructing different robots and creating an intricate LED cube. Because of this I was told by people around me like my parents, teachers, and family friends that engineering would be a suitable career choice for me. At first I was skeptical because I did not really know what engineering was about.
The book I chose to read for summer reading was Steven Kotler’s Tomorrowland: Our Journey From Science Fiction to Science Fact. This book was about different stories of extraordinary breakthroughs in engineering and technology. An example would be the world's first artificial vision implant. The narrator says, “I’m sitting across from a blind man - call him Patient Alpha - at a long table in a windowless conference room in New York. ON one end of the table there’s an old television and a VCR. On the other end are a couple of laptops...And when the world’s first bionic eye is turned on, this is what Patient Alpha will see” (Kotler 61). There are also stories of genetically modified animals, examples of cloning, and talk about the future of genetic engineering and technology. To be honest, before reading my summer reading book, Steven Kotler’s Tomorrowland: Our Journey From Science Fiction to Science Fact, I did not know much at all about genetic engineering and other similar fields because they are so futuristic and have not been around for very long. The idea of genetic engineering can be very scary because of the implications that can come with it. For instance, if genetic cloning gets to the point where humans could be cloned, then we would have to worry about a multitude of problems like somebody cloning the president or another extremely important person. I know it sounds like the plot for a movie, but if genetic engineering keeps advancing as fast as it is now it could be a possibility in the future. It won’t be anytime soon, but eventually I think it could happen. This brings me to my question: Is it ethical? Is artificially modifying DNA for a beneficial reason something that humans should be doing? Personally, I think it is, but I will be exploring it in more detail throughout my Capstone.