[ExI] opinion

[Ben Zaiboc]

On 26/10/2018 23:12, extropy-chat-request at lists.extropy.org wrote:
> Subject:
> Re: [ExI] opinion
> From:
> SR Ballard <sen.otaku at gmail.com>
> Date:
> 26/10/2018 20:18
>
> To:
> ExI chat list <extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org>
>
>
>
>>
>> I think it would take extreme environments to alter the power of 
>> genetics.
>>
>> bill w
>
> I'm not saying genetics have no power, I'm asking how much power they 
> have in relation to environment. Is environment 10%? 25%? I sincerely 
> doubt it would be near or above 50% actually.


The whole 'nature vs nurture' concept is a red herring. Genetics and 
environment aren't two competing forces, they're so intricately tied up 
with one another that it's not even sensible to consider them as 
separate things. A 'gene' on its own is useless (in fact the word itself 
is of doubtful use). What we call 'Genetics' is already a complex 
interaction between environmental signals and sequences of base pairs. 
Look at the production of haemoglobin as a simple example. There's no 
such thing as 'The Gene For Haemoglobin' really. There's some 
information and some environmental influences, and a large set of 
interactions between the two that produce different types of haemoglobin 
for different purposes. One can't achieve anything without the other, so 
it makes no sense to say something like "how much power genes have in 
relation to environment". It's like arguing about whether petrol or 
pistons are more important in combustion engines, but a lot more 
complicated.

-- 
Ben Zaiboc

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