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Genetic enhancement, TED talks and the sense of wonder

TED talks are an emergent and hybrid genre (Ludewig) and have become a highly successful disseminator and populariser of scientific knowledge (Sugimoto et al). The popular appeal of TED may also stem from the promise to deliver life-changing insights in a short amount of time. Besides, TED talks may...

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Autor principal: Filip, Loredana
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: BMJ Publishing Group 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8223630/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34083412
http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/medhum-2020-012051
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author Filip, Loredana
author_facet Filip, Loredana
author_sort Filip, Loredana
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description TED talks are an emergent and hybrid genre (Ludewig) and have become a highly successful disseminator and populariser of scientific knowledge (Sugimoto et al). The popular appeal of TED may also stem from the promise to deliver life-changing insights in a short amount of time. Besides, TED talks may rely on a science fictional ‘sense of wonder’ (Sawyer) in their representations of new technologies. CRISPR-Cas9 is a genome-editing technology that has captured the imagination of scientists. Science’s 2015 Breakthrough of the Year, CRISPR became the focus of ethical debates because of its potential to engineer the human. Rather than its therapeutic use, it is the potential for enhancement that gains traction in media. For these reasons, scientists have called for “a global pause in any clinical applications of the CRISPR technology in human embryos” (Doudna). TED talks actively shape the discourse on genetics at a global level. Embedded in the American culture of self-help and self-improvement, TED talks produce genetic stories that may favour an optimistic representation of genetic engineering. This paper aims to pursue the following questions: how do TED’s formal elements affect the representation of the genome? And how do they influence contemporary constructions of identity? By focusing on two playlists—‘How does DNA work?’ and ‘Get into your genes’ – this paper investigates the emergence of at least three formal features that inform these stories. These three recurring elements—conceptual breakthroughs, a sense of awe, and prophetic statements—also animate a sense of wonder and rely on the notion of ‘vision’ to define the human. In the end, TED talks aim to anticipate or even shape the future. This article argues that we need to pay close attention to how they set out to shape our ‘genetic future’.
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spelling pubmed-82236302021-07-09 Genetic enhancement, TED talks and the sense of wonder Filip, Loredana Med Humanit Original Research TED talks are an emergent and hybrid genre (Ludewig) and have become a highly successful disseminator and populariser of scientific knowledge (Sugimoto et al). The popular appeal of TED may also stem from the promise to deliver life-changing insights in a short amount of time. Besides, TED talks may rely on a science fictional ‘sense of wonder’ (Sawyer) in their representations of new technologies. CRISPR-Cas9 is a genome-editing technology that has captured the imagination of scientists. Science’s 2015 Breakthrough of the Year, CRISPR became the focus of ethical debates because of its potential to engineer the human. Rather than its therapeutic use, it is the potential for enhancement that gains traction in media. For these reasons, scientists have called for “a global pause in any clinical applications of the CRISPR technology in human embryos” (Doudna). TED talks actively shape the discourse on genetics at a global level. Embedded in the American culture of self-help and self-improvement, TED talks produce genetic stories that may favour an optimistic representation of genetic engineering. This paper aims to pursue the following questions: how do TED’s formal elements affect the representation of the genome? And how do they influence contemporary constructions of identity? By focusing on two playlists—‘How does DNA work?’ and ‘Get into your genes’ – this paper investigates the emergence of at least three formal features that inform these stories. These three recurring elements—conceptual breakthroughs, a sense of awe, and prophetic statements—also animate a sense of wonder and rely on the notion of ‘vision’ to define the human. In the end, TED talks aim to anticipate or even shape the future. This article argues that we need to pay close attention to how they set out to shape our ‘genetic future’. BMJ Publishing Group 2021-06 2021-06-17 /pmc/articles/PMC8223630/ /pubmed/34083412 http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/medhum-2020-012051 Text en © Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2021. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/This is an open access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited, appropriate credit is given, any changes made indicated, and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) .
spellingShingle Original Research
Filip, Loredana
Genetic enhancement, TED talks and the sense of wonder
title Genetic enhancement, TED talks and the sense of wonder
title_full Genetic enhancement, TED talks and the sense of wonder
title_fullStr Genetic enhancement, TED talks and the sense of wonder
title_full_unstemmed Genetic enhancement, TED talks and the sense of wonder
title_short Genetic enhancement, TED talks and the sense of wonder
title_sort genetic enhancement, ted talks and the sense of wonder
topic Original Research
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8223630/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34083412
http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/medhum-2020-012051
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