I would expect that the problem of 6′8″ sons (and similar things) will be self-solving. Height confers status now because it demonstrates all manner of desirable qualities. It shows that someone had a healthy childhood, it demonstrates genes that have been able to optimize for strength rather than survival during times of famine, and it shows that someone is likely to do well in a fight. With genetic engineering, I’d expect that being marginally taller won’t be as desirable, because it won’t signify those things anymore.
People will still be taller than they are now, but height won’t be a reliable marker of ancestral success or upbringing quality anymore, and there’s an optimal height for fighting (let’s say it’s 6′2″, arbitrarily, but it exists somewhere), so physical dominance won’t drive an endless arms race towards ever taller heights either. Likely going for something higher than this optimum would be seen as tryhard, desperate, and tasteless, in the same way as over-the-top plastic surgeries are seen today—a sign of insecure parents.
I would expect that the problem of 6′8″ sons (and similar things) will be self-solving. Height confers status now because it demonstrates all manner of desirable qualities. It shows that someone had a healthy childhood, it demonstrates genes that have been able to optimize for strength rather than survival during times of famine, and it shows that someone is likely to do well in a fight. With genetic engineering, I’d expect that being marginally taller won’t be as desirable, because it won’t signify those things anymore.
People will still be taller than they are now, but height won’t be a reliable marker of ancestral success or upbringing quality anymore, and there’s an optimal height for fighting (let’s say it’s 6′2″, arbitrarily, but it exists somewhere), so physical dominance won’t drive an endless arms race towards ever taller heights either. Likely going for something higher than this optimum would be seen as tryhard, desperate, and tasteless, in the same way as over-the-top plastic surgeries are seen today—a sign of insecure parents.