Genetic modifications and child-prodigies

[FTeik]

There seems to be high number of child-prodigies among the high and mighty of the GFFA.

Amidala, Mon Mothma and Leia Organa represented entire worlds, if not sectors when they were still teenagers. Lira Wessex was heading the development of the Venator and the ISD during the clone-wars, while her own father was still fit enough to have a hand in the creation of the Republic-Class SD almost thirty years later, so she can't have been that old. Orman Baron Tagge became head of his family, CEO of one of the largest, if not the largest megacorporation of the GFFA, created the modern version of the Corporate-Sector and headed a GR-comittee tasked with countering the edge the CIS was supposed to have in scientific research by having the TechnoUnion as a member before he became twenty.

Now I'm not suggesting, that all the examples given were genetically modified, all of them could have been natural "wunderkinder", but as we learn from the DESB (aside from the entire clone-army) that the clone-bodies of Emperor Palpatine were modified to have greater strenth, stamina and intelligence than the original body, so the technology exists.

For all we know the people I mentioned weren't modified themself, but profited from the procedure applied to one of their ancestors (might shed a whole new light on the youth-cult of the Naboo). Slower aging (with 60 being the new 40), a better health-system, increased intellect and so on for you or your children must be very tempting prospect, especially if you can already afford everything else.

So how widespread are such practices? Are they dangerous or illegal or is it just something, that isn't talked about? What are your thoughts on the subject?

[Illuminatus Primus]

The extreme youth of the political corps-in-training on Naboo implies some sort of genetic modification and extreme accelerated learning profile. In a galactic society of millions of inhabited systems, a professionalized political class may not be that rare. They are still subject to popular selection, mind you. Amidala was probably selected and raised for high office from early childhood - Palpatine as well.

[Fingolfin_Noldor]

One would expect some degree of genetic engineering to have been practiced. After all, everyone with the money wants a leg up in society. Also, one would want to live longer after all. This is probably not available to the lower classes but the elite would.

[Solauren]

Consider the other technology avialiable as well

It's entirely possible Star Wars galactic educational technology is so advanced, our university level education would be common place kindergarten stuff to them

[Fingolfin_Noldor]

Consider the other technology avialiable as well

It's entirely possible Star Wars galactic educational technology is so advanced, our university level education would be common place kindergarten stuff to them

Hmm.. genetic memory?

[Cykeisme]

Considering the big question on the origin of Star Wars "humans" (and, of course, how close to us they really are), it's entirely possible that the beings we see mature more quickly intellectually.

Plus, it's a very large number of humans (numbering into quadrillions, perhaps) distributed over a great many places, and despite the ease of interstellar travel, its availability and frequency to the masses may be not be high enough to homogenize the gene pool.
Thus, we'd have variations from world to world or sector to sector.

[Publius]

"Accelerated learning" is an established fact in Star Wars, first explicitly mentioned in Jedi Search, in which Dr. Qwi Xux mentions that the Grand Moff Governor of Oversector Outer had placed Omwati children in "intense forced-education camps" on board an orbital education sphere where the ten-year-old Xux had spent two years in "an endless succession of training, testing, training, testing, with no other purpose than to cram the total knowledge of engineering disciplines into pliable young Omwati minds." Notably, Xux "received no instruction in biological sciences, saving her memory space for more physics, mathematics, and engineering."

The process as described in Jedi Search was somewhat lengthy and extremely intense. The accelerated learning techniques were not pleasant. They were able to produce extremely intelligent and talented graduates, but they could not be used to turn a moron into a genius. The accelerated learning method requires a baseline of intelligence and memory to work, and those who were unable to handle the pace of learning suffered mental breakdowns and violent seizures.

Some have advanced the claim that Xux's intelligence was only possible due to her alien physiology, and was otherwise impossible for the Empire to achieve (particularly given the claim in Jedi Search that part of her training at age 12 had involved problems that "had stymied the Empire's best designers"). This is plainly nonsensical. The accelerated learning procedure that had produced Xux was designed by Imperial scientists, using Imperial curricula, implemented by Imperial instructors (Children of the Jedi specifically mentions that Dr. Nasdra Magrody, Professor of Robotics at the prestigious Magrody Institute of Programmable Intelligence, was one of the instructors at the accelerated learning center orbiting Omwat). If anything, the only advantage offered by her Omwati pedigree would be the ability to sustain a faster pace of acceleration.

Children of the Jedi gives some more details on accelerated learning. Dr. Cray Mingla, a full professor at the aforementioned Magrody Institute, mentions "experiments with accelerated learning, at a certain number of multiples of human learning capacity," and signed up for "another accelerator course" in "informational patterning dynamics." General (Retired) Luke Skywalker offered some brief glimpses at the training itself, commenting on the fact that Mingla had often spent all night "with the learning accelerator therapies [...] hypnosis and drug therapies to absorb the farthest frontiers of her chosen field."

The Princess Leia of Alderaan subsequently discovered evidence that Magrody had been coerced into using "the less punitive accelerated learning procedures [...] developed for the Omwat orbital station" on the bastard son of Ruling Councilman Sarcev Quest and courtesan Roganda Ismaren, such that "he learned enough, by the age of twelve, to qualify for an advanced degree in subelectron physics or a position as a droid motivator technician." Note that these methods (developed by an Imperial scientist) are described as the same ones that could cause seizures and mental breakdowns, but are nevertheless "less punitive," and are still regarded as arduous (prompting the Princess to recall Mingla's "desperate measures to accelerate learning"

Accelerated learning, then, is a process of hypnosis and drug therapy designed to rapidly implant advanced knowledge into the brain of the student. It may be related to the system of "flash-imprint" learning used on Grand Admiral Thrawn's Spaarti-type clones (the Empire's predominant GeNodes from "Pax Empirica — The Wookiee Annihilation" do not use this method, nor do its deprecated process described in "Soldiers of the Empire!").

[FTeik]

Doesn't the ISB also talk about accelerated learning for members/agents of ImperialIntelligence by the use of memory-stimulating drugs?

Considering the age of the main GFFA-civilisation the examples given so far seem to be fairly recent developments. Are there examples from centuries or millenia prior?

[Warsie]

Given the future, likely people have evolved as well and/or are given respect. Likely children/teenagers in thie world could to the same if given the chance.

[Noble Ire]

Given the future, likely people have evolved as well and/or are given respect. Likely children/teenagers in thie world could to the same if given the chance.

Perhaps that is the case with older teenagers, but from my admittedly limited understanding of developmental biology, I believe that there are certain biological limitations to the brains of normal children that prevent them from processing certain concepts (abstractions like complex mathematics, for example) before a certain age, and thus inhibit their intellectual growth beyond a point. Someone with a more thorough understanding of that sort of psychology could probably speak to the subject more fully, though.

[Warsie]

Perhaps that is the case with older teenagers, but from my admittedly limited understanding of developmental biology, I believe that there are certain biological limitations to the brains of normal children that prevent them from processing certain concepts (abstractions like complex mathematics, for example) before a certain age, and thus inhibit their intellectual growth beyond a point. Someone with a more thorough understanding of that sort of psychology could probably speak to the subject more fully, though.

Okay.

[Illuminatus Primus]

So do we know that there's some other implanted-memory and education system for the GeNodes?

[Publius]

So do we know that there's some other implanted-memory and education system for the GeNodes?

The only information about GeNodes' development is that "while the Empire created them all alike, they invented their own personalities as soon as they came out of the tube." They invent their own elaborate histories, including imaginary family members and lives before "enlisting" in the Imperial Marines.

This stands in marked contrast to the Spaarti-style clones' education by flash-imprint, which passes along personality as well as knowledge (see the clones of the Baron Fel in Vision of the Future). Also, unlike GeNodes, these types of clones know they're clones.

[Ekiqa]

Don't forget that the average life expectancy will also be much higher than it is today.

In the past few hundred years the life expectancy has gone from 40-50 all the way to 70-80.

How much longer would we live with another 25 plus millenia of medical science?

[Illuminatus Primus]

This stands in marked contrast to the Spaarti-style clones' education by flash-imprint, which passes along personality as well as knowledge (see the clones of the Baron Fel in Vision of the Future). Also, unlike GeNodes, these types of clones know they're clones.

I don't think self-realization is characteristic of Spaarti clones, but rather a reflection of the lack of self-realization safeguards built into GeNodes and self-motivated independent discovery on the part of the clones. Carib Devist knew he was a clone since he was surrounded by other Fel clones and without the safeguards, it was obvious.

[Aquatain]

"Accelerated learning" is an established fact in Star Wars, first explicitly mentioned in Jedi Search, in which Dr. Qwi Xux mentions that the Grand Moff Governor of Oversector Outer had placed Omwati children in "intense forced-education camps" on board an orbital education sphere where the ten-year-old Xux had spent two years in "an endless succession of training, testing, training, testing, with no other purpose than to cram the total knowledge of engineering disciplines into pliable young Omwati minds." Notably, Xux "received no instruction in biological sciences, saving her memory space for more physics, mathematics, and engineering."

The process as described in Jedi Search was somewhat lengthy and extremely intense. The accelerated learning techniques were not pleasant. They were able to produce extremely intelligent and talented graduates, but they could not be used to turn a moron into a genius. The accelerated learning method requires a baseline of intelligence and memory to work, and those who were unable to handle the pace of learning suffered mental breakdowns and violent seizures.

Some have advanced the claim that Xux's intelligence was only possible due to her alien physiology, and was otherwise impossible for the Empire to achieve (particularly given the claim in Jedi Search that part of her training at age 12 had involved problems that "had stymied the Empire's best designers"). This is plainly nonsensical. The accelerated learning procedure that had produced Xux was designed by Imperial scientists, using Imperial curricula, implemented by Imperial instructors (Children of the Jedi specifically mentions that Dr. Nasdra Magrody, Professor of Robotics at the prestigious Magrody Institute of Programmable Intelligence, was one of the instructors at the accelerated learning center orbiting Omwat). If anything, the only advantage offered by her Omwati pedigree would be the ability to sustain a faster pace of acceleration.

Children of the Jedi gives some more details on accelerated learning. Dr. Cray Mingla, a full professor at the aforementioned Magrody Institute, mentions "experiments with accelerated learning, at a certain number of multiples of human learning capacity," and signed up for "another accelerator course" in "informational patterning dynamics." General (Retired) Luke Skywalker offered some brief glimpses at the training itself, commenting on the fact that Mingla had often spent all night "with the learning accelerator therapies [...] hypnosis and drug therapies to absorb the farthest frontiers of her chosen field."

The Princess Leia of Alderaan subsequently discovered evidence that Magrody had been coerced into using "the less punitive accelerated learning procedures [...] developed for the Omwat orbital station" on the bastard son of Ruling Councilman Sarcev Quest and courtesan Roganda Ismaren, such that "he learned enough, by the age of twelve, to qualify for an advanced degree in subelectron physics or a position as a droid motivator technician." Note that these methods (developed by an Imperial scientist) are described as the same ones that could cause seizures and mental breakdowns, but are nevertheless "less punitive," and are still regarded as arduous (prompting the Princess to recall Mingla's "desperate measures to accelerate learning"

Accelerated learning, then, is a process of hypnosis and drug therapy designed to rapidly implant advanced knowledge into the brain of the student. It may be related to the system of "flash-imprint" learning used on Grand Admiral Thrawn's Spaarti-type clones (the Empire's predominant GeNodes from "Pax Empirica — The Wookiee Annihilation" do not use this method, nor do its deprecated process described in "Soldiers of the Empire!").

Wasn't the Clone Troopers trained with the use of "Accelerated learning" as well?

In fact i believe the process can be seen in AotC.

[Vehrec]

Given the future, likely people have evolved as well and/or are given respect. Likely children/teenagers in thie world could to the same if given the chance.

Perhaps that is the case with older teenagers, but from my admittedly limited understanding of developmental biology, I believe that there are certain biological limitations to the brains of normal children that prevent them from processing certain concepts (abstractions like complex mathematics, for example) before a certain age, and thus inhibit their intellectual growth beyond a point. Someone with a more thorough understanding of that sort of psychology could probably speak to the subject more fully, though.

On the opposite hand, the average child below the age of 12 has more ability to learn language than an average adult. There may be a golden education, concpets and thoughts that can be implanted at the moment of absolute understanding and with methods of perfect implementation and impact.
Prehaps there is another reason for using the very young for this. Maybe a certain number of synapses and other plasticity of structure is needed to make maximum use of this kind of accelerated learning. A older person might be a little too set in their mind to undergo and properly use the procedures.