Regardless of the baggage associated with the post, that video about Down Syndrome got me thinking. It was kind of an uplifiting video until it got to the kid who wanted to be a doctor. And then I really considered the fact that that kid will never be able to be a doctor.

I'll admit to not knowing very much about Down Syndrome. But the literature seems to say that they are mentally retarded to a significant degree. And I know I wouldn't want a doctor who was simply an idiot without having a genetic predisposition to it. So why would I want a doctor who had the same level of intelligence, just because he had an "excuse". And even that assumes that a person with lower intelligence could make it through medical school to begin with.

Of course, none of this means that they shouldn't strive to achieve what they can. But, unfortunately, I doubt most of them will be able to achieve those lofty intellectual goals. I'm sure that some will be able to, and we should certainly not assume that just because a person has Down Syndrome that they must be of lower intelligence. After all, if Down Syndrome lowers intelligence by a percentage, there is certainly a large variation in intelligence in the non-Down population, so there's no reason that a "genius" Down sufferer couldn't be far more intelligent than a moderately intelligent non-Down person.

I suppose what it comes down to is that, just as with almost every other human factor, it may indicate a predisposition, but it does not define an individual. Or, at least, it shouldn't.

All that said, though, I do worry about over-egalitarians putting false hope in people. And since Down sufferers tend toward naivete, I'm inclined to say that it's a little worse in that specific case. You don't want to beat down on a person, though, and tell them what they can't do.

Anyone else have any thoughts on it?

People with color blindness aren't allowed to be pilots.

So did anyone here want to be an astronaut?

Any astronauts here?

I have some friends who are rocket scientists.

I think you can't get a commercial license, either.

Regardless, though, of legal bindings, which can just as easily be fraught with prejudice as people themselves, I, for example, cannot be a professional basketball player. I'm simply not coordinated or tall enough to do anything like that. I'm merely incapable. Of course, you can point to people like Muggsy Bogues as counter-examples. (I'm far taller than Muggsy.) But those tend to be very rare exceptions.

In order to be a doctor, you have to get into and survive the brutal reality of medical school, residency, and so forth. If somebody can get through that gauntlet, then that means they're good to me.

Yeah. If Doogie Howser can do it...

I totally agree. However, I seriously doubt the capability of any but the most exceptional Down sufferer to be able to do that, and, in some ways, propagating the notion that they can is hurtful.

Of course, I have the same feeling about everyone else, too. You are not a beautiful and unique snowflake. You are the same decaying organic matter as the rest of us.

I agree with Dan. If a man with a prosthetic leg can pass the fire fighter tests, let him do the job (a current case in NJ, I believe). If a woman or gay man can survive military training, let them do the job.

The one thing I fear is the tests being adjusted to make accomodations. I graduated college, but I don't think I should have been able to by any stretch of the imagination. I think a few key things were weighted in my favor which let me sneak through. Should I receive the same job as other college graduates? Um, maybe, kind of.

If accomodations are made for certain people or situations, the checks and balances may incorrectly evaluate the candidates.



To an extreme, this excellent short science fiction work by Kurt Vonnegut was my first exposure to this situation. I'm amazed that after not seeing the text since probably 1995, the keywords I recalled found it as the second (and fourth) result on Google: ballerina head forget science fiction.

A friend of mine is a private pilot and red/green color blind. Technically, color-blind people are not allowed even to get a private pilot's license in the US. However, he was able to distinguish red and green runway maker lights and so was deemed not technically color blind.

It took some practice for him to be able to do so. Most green lights for applications like traffic lights or runway lights are made with some blue in them to help color blind people distinguish them from red. This was enough for him to get his license.