"Still, the distinction between embryo selection and gene editing is not as stark as it might seem. Genes mutate all the time; indeed, mutation drives evolution. If random mutations are a constant part of nature, there’s nothing intrinsically wrong with altered genes. Eventually, a combination of embryo selection and gene editing may be essential just to stay where we are now. This is because the modern world has been quietly fostering the accumulation of deleterious mutations in all of us. Genetic mutations occur throughout our lives, and some are passed along to our children. Most mutations are either neutral or harmful from the standpoint of fitness. [...] [E]ntropy is a pervasive miasma that leads to disintegration and decay. In the absence of purifying selection, and in the presence of the modern welfare state, which protects us from the ravages of disease and famine and scarcity, we will likely experience a rise in deleterious mutations, along with other genetic pathologies. [...] We may need to keep repairing the post just to preserve the parts of it that we cherish."