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Comment by tick_tock_tick | Hacker News Reader

Gattaca while a great movie always rubbed me wrong as at the end it turns out society was "right" and he probably doomed the mission. His heart was "bad" it turns the whole movie from someone overcoming societal limitation to someone ruining the space mission so they can see space.

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"The poors who somehow got into this fine dining establishment through all the obstacles we have carefully constructed are really ruining the vibe here!"

The space mission may not be the perfect allegory, but that's just nitpicking. How many people watched Gattaca and thought, "Oh no! That crippled tool ruined the space mission! Not my tax dollars oh my stars!"

> his genetic profile indicates a high probability of several disorders and an estimated lifespan of 30.2 years.

That seems to be a very valid reason to not send someone on a space mission.

And many people get well from placebo medication. We don’t fully understand human willpower and its ability to overcome the cards we were dealt at birth. The whole movie is literally about how genetics is not destiny.

Just because the movie claims it does not mean it is true.

Genetics may partly, or even significantly, be destiny.

Willpower won’t fix a congenital heart defect.

I thought the point was that society was completely wrong and was basically overhyping the thing they'd all bought into. They had decided their method was so superior that naturally born people wouldn't live past 30. He'd already well beaten that, outlived his parents and didn't seem sick now. Society was far removed from reality and somehow forgot that natural birth worked fine for all but very recent human history. I find this statement about how society works more compelling than the cautionary about genetic discrimination.

Also a heart 10000 beats overdue is about 3 hours! Even a million beats is well under 2 weeks.

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