Is ignorance bliss? For the family of one American biologist, the answer is probably yes.
In a piece posted on Vox this week, a man with the pseudonym George Doe, described how he recently took a genetics test from the company 23andme and “gave [his] parents the gift of divorce.”
As part of a course that Doe taught on the genome, he “demonstrated the process of acquiring a tissue sample — in this case saliva — and sending it off to 23andMe to look at a million letters in my genome.”
In addition to learning about your own genetic makeup, he explains, “you get the awesome bonus of learning about your ancestry: finding out which parts came from Europe, Africa, Asia.”
In fact, Doe was so excited about the possibility that he gave each of his parents a 23andme kit too — “I was very interested in confirming any susceptibility to cancers that I heard had run in my family, like colon cancer. I wanted to know if I had a genetic risk.”
So much possibility — and yet. A little box at the bottom of the 23andme website asks if you’d like to see close family members in the search program.
When Doe clicked on it, he saw the name of someone he didn’t recognize who shared 22% of his genetic makeup. When Doe’s dad did the same at his request, the stranger turned out to share 50% of the dad’s.
Uh-oh.
The article fails to detail the heartwrenching scenes that followed when Doe’s mother found out. But we can imagine.
Modern technology brings with it the promise of so much transparency. We can watch videotapes now to sort out the guilty from the innocent.
Aren’t we glad we can know what went on behind the closed doors of that Atlantic City elevator so that someone somewhere can bring Ray Rice to justice?
There is nothing standing in the way, not even an envelope, a stamp and a trip to the mailbox to give us time to think.
But we can also see the sex tapes secretly made by the NBC producer of his girlfriend and then posted to a porn site.
We can capture our most joyous celebrations and also someone about to be hit by a subway.
For years we have been encouraged by psychological professionals to get everything off of our chests.
And now we can publish our innermost feelings instantaneously and without threat of censorship.
On the other hand, we can publish our innermost feelings instantaneously without threat of self-censorship.
There is nothing standing in the way, not even an envelope, a stamp and a trip to the mailbox to give us time to think.
Technology has ensured that people who have been lost to us are really just a click away. Parents who gave up their children for adoption find them everyday on Facebook. And children seeking out their parents do the same.
Sometimes there is great celebration when these reunions happen, but the advice columns seem to be filled with letters from people frustrated that parents or children did not respond to repeated entreaties for contact.
Modern technology has allowed us to create children using the eggs and sperm of strangers. And why shouldn’t children have the right to find their biological roots when they reach a certain age?
A site called the Donor Sibling Registry, which as of last year claimed 42,000 users, allows children to find other relatives.
According to FoxNews.com, “Nearly 70 percent of all people who sign up for the Donor Sibling Registry successfully match with a genetic relative — with an average wait time of only 116 days.”
In other words, the clock is ticking for many families — and many family secrets.
At the end of the article, Doe says that the irony of the situation has not escaped him — giving his parents a gift that spelled the end of their marriage.
But it has also altered the way he thinks about science and the importance of transparency.
“One of my favorite phrases is sunlight is the best disinfectant. I still think that’s true. But this has challenged that worldview.”
Even if our secrets are not as dark as those of Doe’s family, most of us don’t want our lives to be an open book.