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I've been thinking that if I were able to clone myself, then raise my clone, I would be able to redo the deficiencies in my upbringing that did not allow me to become all I could have been. For example, although I had loving parents, they did not ever encourage me, or expect much of me, academically.
Since we, as adults, are in a position to understand what our strengths and weaknesses are, just think of how we could create our best selves if we were given this opportunity.
If I had to raise the clone, then no. In my opinion, we are products of our environment (upbringing and life experiences) as well as our genes. I passed down some amount of my genes to my kid. The rest is upbringing. I guess in other words, "raising a clone" is almost the same as "raising my offspring."
Besides, as it stands right now, physically, my kid is a "mini-me" anyway.
Now, if I did not have to raise my clone (they'd just pop out of some capsule fully-grown with all of my knowledge and what-not), then I'd point it to my desk at work while I then kick back...
My clone would not be me, but only a genetic copy of me. He would have my Asperger's Syndrome and Bipolar Disorder, but he would not be me since my 32 years of totally unique life-experience have produced "me" as an individual. Also, why would I want to have what would essentially be a son? I don't want to be a father. If I could clone myself, I wouldn't.
If I had to raise the clone, then no. In my opinion, we are products of our environment (upbringing and life experiences) as well as our genes. I passed down some amount of my genes to my kid. The rest is upbringing. I guess in other words, "raising a clone" is almost the same as "raising my offspring."
Besides, as it stands right now, physically, my kid is a "mini-me" anyway.
Now, if I did not have to raise my clone (they'd just pop out of some capsule fully-grown with all of my knowledge and what-not), then I'd point it to my desk at work while I then kick back...
I get what you are saying, and of course we all try to raise our own children using the influences of our own childhoods.
I still think that, knowing myself better than anyone, the new me would be totally awesome, since I could steer her and encourage her to make the most of her potential.
Considering that identical twins are clones and that if they are separated at birth, they can grow up to be quite different people, I don't think there is any reason for you to conclude that raising your clone would be any different from raising a non-clone.
I've been lazy the last few years, and there were some things in my childhood I didn't care for, but I don't think I'd do better than my parents did.
I suppose an advantage of a clone, rather than just a child, is I'd understand it's inherent potentials better and it would have my condition so I wouldn't have to try to learn/fake "walking people stuff." (So I wouldn't have to worry about this "play catch with son" jazz. I know OIs who like sports but as we can't really do it there no need to press him on it or fake caring. People will sort-of accept a male like me being indifferent to running, shooting, and that walking-men's stuff) On the other hand a huge disadvantage is it would have my inherent potentials and my genetic condition. So I'd have to deal with dozens or hundreds of bone fractures before he's age 5. And I'd have to deal with him being obsessive or even manic in extreme cases. Maybe that's not entirely genetic, but obsessiveness/anxiety-disorders seem to be not uncommon on my Mother's side of the family as my grandfather was an agoraphobic who feared he'd die every night. And as I have my own anxieties to deal with dealing with I'd fear dealing with a child's could make it worse for me or him or us both.
Location: somewhere between Lk. Michigan & Lk. Huron
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short answer NO, & if I were to do so, then just like my offspring, after a certain point in life my clone would take off on there own, separated, weened, & branching out on their own. My offspring branched out all on there own when they felt like it was their time to go there own way, so would my clone, I believe. Like twins separated & adopted out & years later to find they lived totally entirely different lives accordingly to their life environment.
I've been thinking that if I were able to clone myself, then raise my clone, I would be able to redo the deficiencies in my upbringing that did not allow me to become all I could have been. For example, although I had loving parents, they did not ever encourage me, or expect much of me, academically.
Since we, as adults, are in a position to understand what our strengths and weaknesses are, just think of how we could create our best selves if we were given this opportunity.
I think this is fun to think about.
Well I'll give you something that probably has nothing to do with your hypothetical question.
I'm 60. The other day I was talking to an high school ex-classmate about other classmates, and also our long-ago experiences in high school. Anyway, I told him that I'd like to get in a time machine and live one more day in my old high school. I too would be young but I'd retain my current mental awareness. Another words, it would be like the current me were disguised as myself as an 18 year-old. I'd select a school day in April, 1969.
I figure I'd be much better with the babes. I'd be cooler and less a dork. After all, I'd have 40+ more years of "sophistication", and I would no longer be intimidated by who was popular and who wasn't. But mostly I'd just look around at all the kids that I used to know, at the time when we had our lives in front of us. And I suppose I'd see my mother, father, and my three sisters as they were over 40 years ago when my father was still 20 years from dying of cancer and my mother, who died a few years ago at age 89, was still in her 40s. The whole ordeal would be amusing, creepy, and kind of sad too.
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