@jerry-d

Kazani’s cast below is a well-articulated argument for continually revisiting your ideas and premises and refining or redefining them as needed. So often, we find quick success in an idea and enshrine it, protect it as if it’s a flawless diamond - rarely if ever to be questioned. His eugenics example as a plausible idea for humanity to pursue is one such case. In public discourse 100 years ago, the arguments “for” are as present today as they were then. When we mapped the human genome, I knew it wouldn’t be long until the collective “we” started to talk about Designer Babies and removing the genetic precursors for propensities toward cancer or other diseases. I’m barely able to contain references to Aristotle’s meditations on imperfection, the existence of God, and what He has created - as it relates to re-arranging DNA to remove not only OUR imperfections, but the imperfections of our progeny for generations to come. Talk about a God complex. As for Kazani’s final argument for us to spend the time to actually look for those quiet and crucial Diamond Occlusions, for those blemishes in our perfect idea - it pains me to say that it is a bridge too far for most - even the super-intelligent in the audience. Social media, YouTube shorts, the 10-second elevator pitch - every minute and second of our lives…we have been programmed to protect our time, our attention. Sometimes we see references to this as efficiency gurus show us our entire life in a two-dimensional series of Scantron bubbles and ask us if we’re spending enough time with our loved ones. All this to say: history repeats itself. We will improve - eventually, but it will take a lot of regression to get there.

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