Have we not been able to breed cows and cats and dogs and horses for all sorts of things and traits many SDs beyond their ancestral wild populations?
Not for intelligence, as far as I know. Though dog breeds are widely considered to vary in intelligence -- have there been any attempts to quantify it?
As to "failing", traditional genetic engineering certainly ran into some limits. To continue with dogs, large breeds have shorter lifespans. Many breeds have well-known pervasive genetic problems (hip dysplasia in German shepherds, etc.).
It sounds like your beliefs on this topic are molded by some outdated Romantic myths about genius.
I doubt it's Romantic myths since people that come to my mind mostly lived in the XX century, but yes, I've said that it's a prior and I'm open to evidence other than handwaving.
since no one knows what other genetic changes one would make
That's the point of experimenting :-)
I doubt it's Romantic myths since people that come to my mind mostly lived in the XX century
The Romantics invented the myth of insane geniuses touched by divinity, but that doesn't mean people holding that belief suffer from amnesia and are unable to list any examples from after the Romantics... Given the lifetime prevalence of any mental illness in the general population, it would be surprising if one couldn't list some anecdotes like Godel.
That's the point of experimenting :-)
There's a practically infinite number of genetic changes one could make....
I suggested recently that part of the problem with with LW was a lock of discussion posts which was caused by people not thinking of much to post about.
When I ask myself "what might be a good topic for a post?", my mind goes blank, but surely not everything that's worth saying that's related to rationality has been said.
So, is there something at the back of your mind which might be interesting? A topic which got some discussion in an open thread that could be worth pursuing?
If you've found anything which helps you generate useable ideas, please comment about it-- or possibly write a post on the subject.