--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Suppose that every prospective parent in…" description: "\"Suppose that every prospective parent in the world stopped having children naturally, and instead produced clones of themselves. What would the world b..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e3/nathan-myhrvold-3298_answers_suppose-that-every-prospective-parent-in_2270770.png" --- # Suppose that every prospective parent in the world stopped… ![“Suppose that every prospective parent in the world stopped having children naturally, and instead produced clones of themselves. What would the world be like in another 20 or 30 years? The answer is: much like today. Cloning would only copy the genetic aspects of people who are already here.” quote by Nathan Myhrvold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e3/nathan-myhrvold-3298_answers_suppose-that-every-prospective-parent-in_2270770.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e3/nathan-myhrvold-3298_answers_suppose-that-every-prospective-parent-in_2270770.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e3/nathan-myhrvold-3298_answers_suppose-that-every-prospective-parent-in_2270770.png) > “Suppose that every prospective parent in the world stopped having children naturally, and instead produced clones of themselves. What would the world be like in another 20 or 30 years? The answer is: much like today. Cloning would only copy the genetic aspects of people who are already here.” [Nathan Myhrvold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-myhrvold/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Cloning reproduces genetics but not culture, ideas, or environment, so society would remain similar. **In simple terms:** Genetic copies don’t change society. Key Takeaway Genetic alone’t change change. Themes technology ethics society Mood thoughtful neutral Type speculative philosophical When to use this quote - policy debates - future planning - education - family planning Key Concepts genetics copying identity Questions to Reflect On - What aspects of humanity are non‑genetic? - How would cloning affect inequality? A Different Perspective Cloning may raise unforeseen social and legal issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Answers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/answers/) [Aspect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aspect/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Clone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clone/) [Clones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clones/) [Clones World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clones-world-5261522/) [Cloning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cloning/) [Copies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/copies/) [Having children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/having-children/) [Parent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parent/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Produced Clones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/produced-clones-5261521/) [Today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/today/) [Today Cloning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/today-cloning-5261520/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) [Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years/) ## Related quotes > [“The way to be invisible - is to truly be imaginary. But since you cannot imagine yourself, you have to clone your imagination into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-advise/the-way-to-be-invisible-is-to-truly-be-imaginary-but-since-you-cannot/) [Will Advise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-advise/) > [The people who make policy decisions should damned well know what they are talking about before they make the decisions. There is nobody who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-j-anderson/the-people-who-make-policy-decisions-should-damned-well-know-what/) [Kevin J. Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-j-anderson/) > [Anybody who objects to cloning on principle has to answer to all the identical twins in the world who might be insulted by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/anybody-who-objects-to-cloning-on-principle-has-to-answer-to-all-the/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [The cloning procedure is similar to IVF. The only difference is that the DNA of sperm and egg would be replaced by DNA from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-myhrvold/the-cloning-procedure-is-similar-to-ivf-the-only-difference-is-that/) [Nathan Myhrvold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-myhrvold/) > [“Well I’ve just been thinking, and don’t you think it’s kind of, well, kind of vain, to decide we need to make little clones…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-culver/well-i-ve-just-been-thinking-and-don-t-you-think-it-s-kind-of-well/) [Jonathan Culver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-culver/) > [The nurse pointed out that identical twins were already clones in a sense, and Mother Emmanuel suggested that the soul to worry about belonged…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-salzman/the-nurse-pointed-out-that-identical-twins-were-already-clones-in-a/) [Mark Salzman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-salzman/) > [“Aside from myself, there aren’t too many people trying to be me. That may change in the future, when all my clones arrive.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/aside-from-myself-there-aren-t-too-many-people-trying-to-be-me-that/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [“Love one person at a time, that’s the motto I’ll try to get my clones to live by.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/love-one-person-at-a-time-that-s-the-motto-i-ll-try-to-get-my-clones/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [“My clones will look like me, and therefore I’ll treat them like myself—starting with spending all their hard-earned money. 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Alone I just put in the man.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/i-put-the-men-in-mental-well-me-and-my-clones-do-alone-i-just-put-in/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [Love one person at a time, thats the motto Ill try to get my clones to live by](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hussein-nishah/love-one-person-at-a-time-thats-the-motto-ill-try-to-get-my-clones-to/) [Hussein Nishah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hussein-nishah/) > [“Shakespeare asked what’s in a name. Well, each of my clones won’t be named the same as me, but they’ll be me and just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/shakespeare-asked-what-s-in-a-name-well-each-of-my-clones-won-t-be/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [No one can tell the difference between a clone and a human. That's because there isn't any difference. 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