Or are you thinking that we could use CRISPR to edit the genes of adult humans in ways that make them smarter within months? Whoa, that blows my mind. Seems very unlikely to me, for several reasons; is it a real thing? Do people think that’s possible?
No, I wasn’t thinking of modification of adult somatic genes. I was thinking of reproductive maturity taking 12 years, which you’re right is also about how long it takes to reach adult levels of cognition (though not knowledge, obviously). The coincidence here leads to the ambiguity in what you said. Actually, I doubt this is a coincidence—it makes biological sense for these two to go together. Neither would be immutable if you’re making profound changes to the genome, although if anything, it might be necessary to prolong the period of immaturity in order to get higher intelligence.
Or are you thinking that we could use CRISPR to edit the genes of adult humans in ways that make them smarter within months? Whoa, that blows my mind. Seems very unlikely to me, for several reasons; is it a real thing? Do people think that’s possible?
No, I wasn’t thinking of modification of adult somatic genes. I was thinking of reproductive maturity taking 12 years, which you’re right is also about how long it takes to reach adult levels of cognition (though not knowledge, obviously). The coincidence here leads to the ambiguity in what you said. Actually, I doubt this is a coincidence—it makes biological sense for these two to go together. Neither would be immutable if you’re making profound changes to the genome, although if anything, it might be necessary to prolong the period of immaturity in order to get higher intelligence.