# How do you deal with the fact that people are just arrangements of genetic code?



## The Proof (Aug 5, 2009)

I wanted to ask you how you deal with the fact people are just lego-type constructions of code.

Does it affect your interactions in any way ?

Does it make you more withdrawn or more open ?

I don't even see people anymore, just building blocks.


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## Arjan (Jul 31, 2013)

I don't really deal with that, because in fact this is not true. Many traits are, but as many or more are only partially determined by genetics.


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## Mbaruh (Aug 22, 2013)

That's just silly. You are the same way, so wouldn't it be more logical to just ignore that fact when interacting with other people?
It's not new info, although not entirely correct. You are who you are, and it shouldn't bother the way you behave. Ttry to see people as a whole. If you look at a spoon do you see a bunch of atoms? It's still a spoon and you will eat soup with it without paying much attention to it, right?


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## Glurp (Jul 6, 2013)

Doesn't affect me, i never really think about people's DNA when i talk to them. The thought of genetics might cross my mind if i see something obvious about them like a birthmark or baldness (i do like the topic of DNA/genetics). Other than that, i just see people as other humans like me with differing interests and social preferences etc. In my opinion when you only count DNA, you forget the environmental aspect (epigenetics, chemicals, nutrition, location, parents, friends etc etc, basically the whole of life after conception that changes a person)

That you can actually see people only as building blocks is in some creepy way pretty interesting.


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## ManWithoutHats (Jun 2, 2012)

Genetics is a concept that corresponds to an objective phenomenon but ultimately your understanding of genetics is a personalized concept– the way you use and apply this theory is like how one uses a map. But while a map may display everything in a readable way, it only shows one perspective– a geographical map vs a political map, etc. Using genetics to understand people in your life is like using a topographical map to navigate the interstate highway system. As much as you might like to think that you've got everything figured out, you don't. People aren't _just_ arrangements of genetic code unless you think of them as only that– and that's probably not a very useful way to think of them (as I'm sure you can testify).

Anyway, if you're looking for advice then maybe you should be more specific about the problem– are such thoughts conscious (ie you purposefully try to analyze people this way) or are the thoughts intrusive (as if they subconsciously arise without effort, whether you want to think about this or not)? Do you then find it difficult not to over analyze people's behavior from a biological/genetic perspective? Or perhaps you find this distressing because it makes the world feel as though it's hardly real or it makes everything seem pointless? Or something else?..

Edit: Oh yeah, and factually speaking you are incorrect. If people existed in some kind of vacuum then this might be true, but that is fundamentally impossible. Even in the womb there are things besides genetics which physically affect the development of a person. Everything from what you ate for breakfast yesterday to your experiences during your first day of school affect who you are. Obviously genetics are a major factor but it's hardly a fraction of the full picture.


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## aphinion (Apr 30, 2013)

Sometimes I take a step back just to marvel at everything, but it's not too hard for me to come back to earth. It really is marvelous though, how we're all just DNA and molecules and useless bits of star dust.


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## Randomasd (Aug 29, 2013)

This knowledge doesn't change anything in my interactions with people. We are not just building blocks, the interaction with the ambient influence the expression of the genes making it very complex, more complex than you can ever imagine. 

Just to prove my point I'll given an example. Some bacteria only express the gene to degrade lactose if there is lactose available in the ambient if else the expression of the gene is blocked.
This without considering the uniqueness of the brain to each individual.


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## Pirate (Jan 2, 2013)

Either: people dont have free will and this discussion is pointless
or
People do have free will, and thus are more than just genetics.


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## Residual Deviance (May 11, 2013)

What if you could code in genetic code

Like instead of using 0s and 1s you used the 4 DNA coding letters and stored messages and stuff in DNA the way you would a computer, but with 4 possible values instead of 2

Build computers out of DNA and stuff

Is this feasible or do I need to adjust my meds again?


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## DarkWolf (Sep 6, 2013)

I'm a building block too, like everyone else, so I know that BEING a living animal IS being a building block so...why should I care? That's like asking if finding out that I'm alive because my parents had sex changed my life. We're animals. We're results of evolution and the combination of several genes. Why would that change the way I see myself and other people? That's just normal.

Also, we have a "soul" you know. Not everything is about genetics. We are more than that.


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## Calvin (Jun 21, 2012)

That's a pretty grim outlook. I prefer to view people as fellow creatures, all sharing one world and existence together.


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## XiXaXian (Jan 8, 2012)

I'm not as worried about the DNA as I am by the fact that they are a disgusting puss-filled meatbag. =)


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## LadyO.W.BernieBro (Sep 4, 2010)

lt sometimes freaks me out and has lead me to consider reproduction very carefully.

l don't think it matters if l include myself, that just makes it worse. Especially when l see tiny pieces of my dad in myself. l am doing nothing on this Earth except renting a bag of skin.


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## Tea Path (Sep 5, 2012)

The Proof said:


> I wanted to ask you how you deal with the fact people are just lego-type constructions of code.
> 
> Does it affect your interactions in any way ?
> 
> ...


it's amazing. you, there, you bundle of A,G,T,C, you are fucking awesome in all your complexity yet elegant simplicity. ain't it grand?


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## ManWithoutHats (Jun 2, 2012)

Residual Deviance said:


> What if you could code in genetic code
> 
> Like instead of using 0s and 1s you used the 4 DNA coding letters and stored messages and stuff in DNA the way you would a computer, but with 4 possible values instead of 2
> 
> ...


I actually remember reading something about this... I'm going to try and find it...

Aha! Found it:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-21145163

Also this:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7085154.stm


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## Maximus Deus (Jun 8, 2013)

Doesn't bother me because I never think about it.


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## redneck15 (Mar 21, 2011)

I deal with it by ignoring it.


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## FlawlessError (Aug 29, 2012)

I just don't care. It doesn't change anything about my interactions, I'm quite apathetic about that really. 

Though if you want to make something of it, it's really amazing isn't it? How evolution could bring us to such complexity...


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## XDS (Sep 4, 2013)

The Proof said:


> I wanted to ask you how you deal with the fact people are just lego-type constructions of code.
> 
> Does it affect your interactions in any way ?
> 
> ...


If this were true, determining how well a person would do in any given situation would only require looking at their DNA, but the world doesn't work that way. People are physically and possibly mentally shaped by their genetic code, but the way they interact is affected much more by their experiences. People don't avoid hot objects because their genetics say they should, they avoid hot objects because they remember being burned.

If anything, people are data storage units storing billions of thoughts, memories, and predictions using a physical body to interact with other data storage units.



Residual Deviance said:


> What if you could code in genetic code
> 
> Like instead of using 0s and 1s you used the 4 DNA coding letters and stored messages and stuff in DNA the way you would a computer, but with 4 possible values instead of 2
> 
> ...


Some laboratory was able to use a genome for data storage. It costs some ridiculous amount of money to do, though.


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## ZMX (Jul 2, 2012)

"What do you do with the fact that things are made of things"


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