The scary future?

HBO was showing Gattaca, one of my favorite movies of all time. Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman co-starred in this movie, and would go on to marry each other afterwards. As I sat watching the start of the movie, I am reminded of two recent conversations with friends. Putting the two together gives a slightly scary picture for the future.

I was told by a friend that her son has survived his first school interviews, and has been accepted into two nurseries. The kid is 19 months old. Now what's wrong with this picture?

In a crowded city like Hong Kong (the same is true for New York), competition to get into the best schools is fierce, which produces schools that are really stuck-up and snobby. Apparently, my friend's son went through a grilling session, and was peppered with a series of questions. He's a 19-month old kid, for heaven's sake... He's barely started to talk, and he's already being interrogated?! I was joking with my friend that her son will have no problem getting jobs in the future, coz he's been interviewing since before he was 2!

As I discuss this issue with other friends whose kids are now of schooling age, we shake our heads in disbelief. Most of us did go to very good schools in our time, and for me this started early. I went to a prestigious kindergarten in Singapore, the best elementary school in Taipei, the best international school in Tokyo, and a top-20 US university. But I certainly don't remember having to interview for the kindergarten and elementary schools, never mind the thought of being grilled before age 2...

Is getting into the right nursery or kindergarten that important? Are the futures of kids today determined as early as during their nursery years?

Gattaca offers one version of the future, where one can genetically engineer children so give them the best possible future. Those who are not engineered are born with "faults" and are deemed less desirable by society, and are relegated to menial jobs such as janitors. Society practices genetic discrimination and is divided into two classes, where the "Invalid" class becomes like the Dalits or "untouchables" in India's caste system.

As competition becomes fierce in the future, I can easily imagine a day when would-be parents resort to genetically engineering their children to ensure that they get into the best schools, are offered the best jobs...etc. What a sad society that would be, where nothing is left to chance and everything is pre-determined.

I hope I don't live to see that day.