Writing Log 5B Hotspots

In the article “It’s a Girl” by Kathleen Fackelmann, I came across my first hotspot on page 364. It stated, “Rothman, for example, worries about parents who choose a sex because they are seeking to fill stereotypical, perhaps unrealistic roles. For example, a women who hopes for a girl may say she wants to shop for a prom gown or go to manicures with her daughter.” The paragraph later goes on to talk about how the daughter a women may get, may not fit this role. She may be a tomboy who is more into sports then manicures. I feel like this is an important idea to consider when thinking about this new technology of picking your child’s gender. It brings into light the possible controversies and problems with a procedure like this. Having such high expectations for your unborn child is unrealistic and may result in a strained bond throughout life. That is why I believe this is an important insight to consider when thinking about this new technology.

My next hotspot is on page 365 and it states, “Rothman says that even with all the human reproductive genetic advances, one thing should remain the same: ‘when you parent, you get what you get’.” I really liked this quote that Rothman gives. Being a parent means taking on the responsibilities of another life and loving your child no matter what. Deciding to become a parent means you are ready to do these things. I don’t agree with being able to pick the gender or even being able to pick personality traits—in the future—of your child. I think it raises unrealistic expectations that may cause you to act differently as a parent. The idea of “you get what you get” describes this idea perfectly and is something that all future parents should consider. No matter what your child is like, they are yours.

In “Why We Should Go to Mars” by Kim Stanley Robinson I found my first hotspot on page 390 and it states, “We’ve come to understand that the two planets shared very similar beginnings, that radically diverged; understanding more about the two planetary histories will teach us a lot about Earth.” I found this idea very interesting because I have never really thought much about the idea of going to Mars. This idea gives an important insight on why going to Mars could benefit life on Earth. Even though making this expedition could be dangerous, it could have numerous benefits that might outweigh the dangers.

“A single human expedition would teach us more than a century of robotic landings, as members of the team lived there for six months or a year, wandering over the astounding red landscape performing one complicated experiment after another; their work and problems would be more interesting than the robots’ as well” (390). I liked this hotspot because it shows how human experience can actually be more beneficial than technology. As a society we rely way too much on technology and tend to go to it to solve many of our problems. We think technology is the solution to everything. This idea that Robinson brings up shows how human experience is more important then we sometimes give it credit for. For a person to actually go to Mars and experience the emotions and senses that a robot can’t do, would give us more insight then we could image. As a society, we need to give human experience the credit it deserves.