There are those of us out here that care about knowledge more than popularity. I know that doesn't feed the author. Sad world that chooses popularity over knowledge and thought.

Even though I'm not religious I do remember watching a documentary on something along these lines I believe it was series Mysteries of the Bible. Not sure. There was something else in a documentary if I can put my finger on it I'll try to let you know.

honestly, this idea would be a single thread in a much larger story. Nothing I've written so far hasn't had multiple messages. Every word, every phrase, every analogy, every action has meaning and purpose.

Might take a bit of research to determine what genetic afflictions are unique to homo sapiens. I'm pretty sure that albinism and achondroplasia are cross-species. Afflictions like phocomelia caused by thalidomide aren't entirely man-made - they are also naturally occurring.

I'd like to see a good creative exploration of the purpose of the yawn. Moreover, why is it that echokinetic yawning does not occur in children under 5, people with autism, psychopaths, and sociopaths? I'd devour insights into the yawn question without any concern for the feelings of others. What is the biological imperative for a yawn such that it spans so many species? Evolutionary fluke, energy field synchronization, oxygen to the brain, or unexplained behavior genetically engineered by ancient super-scientists?

I would call it interesting. I would want to carry it forward, not just genetically but socially.

this idea, as with most of my ideas, will have me researching quite a bit.

not even a consideration with this idea :)

Interesting. Through out the ages there are tales of superior races. The most notable for most is David and Goliath. So with that thought your thinking does hold merit. There are more cases but I would need more time to research accurate details.

that hardly translates to book sales these days.

Yes, I've infrequently wondered about the "tongue" correlation with lower IQ.... And, in turn, poor enunciation.

There's been a number of science fiction books and movies made about such genetic tinkering in the wrong hands.
End result? Usually murdering monsters.
As for reality, Adolf Hitler had a thing for a genetically controlled race of Teutonic blonds that did not reach full fruition.
More murdering monsters.
What's becoming of the USA (along with science)?
I've seen more than one science fiction monster movie end with the following--
The End?

What a terrific S.F. premise! I could think of many plot variations based on that idea. Whoever said that it might be callous or mean spirited has either never read much past sci-fi or doesn't recognize our nation's current attitudes. If you can find it, read The Marching Morons a short story by Cyril M. Kornbluth,

I certainly don't think it would be callused, and I also don't think it would be callous! You used both spellings, so I searched the universe for meaning...

[Calloused or Callused?
By Maeve Maddox

In its literal sense the adjective callous is used to describe parts of the skin that are hardened by constant friction or pressure. Used figuratively it refers to insensitive behavior, or hardness of the mind.

A variant spelling of callous is callus. This spelling is usually seen in connection with body parts:

Used literally, the spellings are interchangeable. A foot may be either calloused or callused.

When using the adjective in a figurative sense, however, stick to callous and its forms: a callous person, calloused behavior.]

If your work is fiction then I don't see how anyone could find it offensive unless you work hard to reach an offensive conclusion!

There could be so many ways you could go with this. Perhaps a vein where two different traits that were produced as a "benefit" turned into a "deformity" when their genes where intermixed. I mean that's how our "diversity" in the gene pool works, isn't it?

That statement by a fiction character made quite an impact on my way of thinking back then.
Not Crichton. He wrote it.

Interesting!

As long as everyone aflicted with whatever issue is a white male, no one will ever acuse you of being callused or heartless.

Sounds like a very interesting book or future movie. I see much leeway to develop a really awesome story line! Maybe like following the lineage of a single family or two!

Even if I thought that it were callused or heartless - I don't - I would still encourage you to write the book. That's what freedom of expression demands.

Interesting. It sounds like a search for answers and not an attack on anyone.

What if it were an ongoing experiment searching for the genetic leap that would save their culture, and they progress check occasionally? It wouldn't be unusual to have 9 of 10 experiments go awry. What if the 1 of 10 or even 1 of 100 turned out to be Stephan Hawking or Steve Jobs, or Vanderbilt or Carnegie from a prior generation, and that distant culture hoped to take the genetic material from the successes back home?

As an author it's up to you whether your them is mean spirited or Devine.

+1 Facts are facts.

Any emotional inferences are added by people and are not facts.

Life and reality in general could be classified as calloused and potentially mean spirited.

Using that as a meter stick on whether or not to write a story that you want to write is letting mob emotion trump reason.

It is your call in any case, however if its a story you want to tell conciously or not, you WILL tell it at some point regardless.

If the story is pushing you, by all means tell it.

oooh, interesting! I also like the thought of a natural mutation "piggybacking" on a tinkered one - the original tinker was the larger tongue on people with Downs; somehow that interacted with or began to occur concurrently with the lower IQ. do it! I wanna read it!

Definitely interesting. I believe man may have been far more advanced than our history tells us.