Genetic Enhancement vs Telekinesis

[Shai-Hulud]

The Plot Gods give you a choice from among two empowerments:

a) You become genetically enhanced on the order of Julian Bashir from DS9. Your I.Q. increases five points a day for two weeks (seventy points), and you get widespread improvements in hand-eye coordination, reflexes, vision and stamina.

b) You gain Carrie-level telekinesis (Stephen King universe).

[MichaelC]

Genetic enhancement, easily. I could get rich really easily with a 210 I.Q. And the physical improvements would probably extend my lifespan, or at the very least my quality of life.

[Beadle]

I cud gets a IQ of 94?! Thass amazible!

[Sol_M]

Yeah, telekinesis really seems more like a quality of life improvement, while increasing IQ could actually enable the pursuit of more meaningful long term goals.

I cud gets a IQ of 94?! Thass amazible!

You have an IQ of 24?

[The Dog]

I cud gets a IQ of 94?! Thass amazible!

I gits uh IQ uv 55. Huurey!

[Nik Hasta]

IQ isn't actually a very good or accurate measure of intelligence.

How smart did the character become?

[Sol_M]

IQ isn't actually a very good or accurate measure of intelligence.

How smart did the character become?

I mean, you're already intelligent. But if you also suddenly start performing way better on IQ tests, you've definitely become better at solving certain types of problems, if nothing else.

In isolation, the word "intelligence" is too vague and doesn't mean a whole lot.

70 points of IQ isn't going to turn you into a comic book super scientist like Reed Richards though.

[wjowski]

Personally I'd take telekinesis, since that's pretty much my dream-superpower.

[BitVyper]

IQ isn't actually a very good or accurate measure of intelligence.

How smart did the character become?

Yeah this. So ignoring the IQ thing, well Bashir seems to be really really effortlessly good at math, but that's about it, really. Rather, he's good at other stuff too, but we're more aware that he's practiced all those things a lot. Math is the only thing he seems to just automatically be good at.

How strong is Carrie's telekinesis?

[BitVyper]

Just reading the wiki article on Carrie, she seems pretty strong. I think I'd take that, rather than some nebulous ability to score well on IQ tests.

Pretty good range and able to cause heart failure, so I can be a one-man revolution. Not quite enough to take over the world and institute my own rules, but enough to competently take a lot of things OUT of the world.

[k von doom]

One makes you a unique human; the other makes you a real life superhero.

[BitVyper]

Notably, IF Bashir's genetic tampering actually made him considerably smarter (and TBH, I feel DS9 does not adequately establish that it did), then his brain must be structurally pretty different from an ordinary human's. Variances in allele frequencies that you'd see between any two humans won't really account for anything.

[Toreador]

TK would be fun the the GE is more practical and probably more useful in real life.

[The Drunkard Kid]

Notably, IF Bashir's genetic tampering actually made him considerably smarter (and TBH, I feel DS9 does not adequately establish that it did), then his brain must be structurally pretty different from an ordinary human's. Variances in allele frequencies that you'd see between any two humans won't really account for anything.

IIRC, the episode where his Genetic Engineering is revealed explains that he was notably below normal intelligence (possibly from a congenital condition, I guess) until the procedure, after which he was able to become an extremely capable and relatively suave space doctor.

[Sharpandpointies]

TK.

*limit dance*