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20250119 – The Genetic Book of Dead
MAIN IDEA:
The main idea of this book is to explore the concept of genetic archaeology. The key points are:
- DNA is a Historical Record, so one can study its sequences to trace the lineage of species back through time. This includes the functional parts of DNA and “dead” or non-coding DNA, remnants of past evolutionary events.
- Pseudogenes and Fossils: Some DNA sequences that once had a function but have since become inactive can tell us about extinct species or ancient functions that are no longer needed.
- Reconstructing Evolutionary History: These sequences show when certain traits appeared or disappeared, like chapters in the “Book of the Dead,” detailing the story of life.
- The Concept of Universal Ancestry: the author also uses this genetic evidence to support the idea that all living organisms on Earth have a common ancestry. He explores how far back we can trace this lineage, essentially looking at the “deep time” of biological history.
- Educational and Philosophical Insights: In addition to reviewing the scientific aspect, the author discusses the philosophical implications of understanding our genetic heritage, providing a sense of connection to all life forms and a deeper understanding of our place in the natural world.
CONTENT:
MY TAKE ON IT:
DNA is just a code of living objects, either plants or animals, that has evolved over millions of years. As such, it is not that different from the staff that I am very familiar with – computer code consciously developed over the last 80 years. It contains bits and pieces of stuff developed long ago; some are still active and some dormant, but they are still there because cleaning them up is difficult and meaningless. In both cases, it is useful for analyzing the history of development. Still, it is far from complete history because lots of DNA that used to be active just disappeared together with organisms that had it when these organisms were discontinued by evolution. All this creates a great opportunity for curious individuals to model history by using existing DNA and a multitude of data points derived from the history of environmental changes. The results will always remain speculative, but they could provide a very interesting outcome. Since we are getting closer to being capable of modifying DNA, including our DNA, the results of modeling historical development could generate not just a better understanding but also some good ideas of how to rebuild our DNA to help humans in their pursuit of happiness. It would require the massive application of AI, but unlike the current use of human labor that AI will completely substitute in the near future, this application will always remain just supplementary to human activities because only humans can judge their level of happiness, and no AI could do it for them.
20240929 – The Genetic Lottery
MAIN IDEA:
The main idea of this book is to demonstrate that success in life, or lack thereof, is highly dependent on an individual’s DNA and family wealth. To evaluate the impact of DNA, the author relies on the polygenic index for traits positively correlated with high levels of education. Here is the graphic representation:
The book’s first part is quite scientific, and the author clearly states what she was expecting to achieve:” By this point in the book, I hope I have convinced you of three things. One, genetic research has developed an array of methods, using family members, measured DNA, and combinations of both, that estimate the effects of genes on complicated human outcomes. Second, the overwhelming consensus of that research is that genetic differences between people matter for who succeeds in formal education, which structures many other forms of inequality. Third, while the biology of these genetics is still largely a mystery, progress is being made on understanding the psychological and social mediators of genetic effects on educational success.”
The book’s second part discusses the social environment, especially equity vs equality, and makes an interesting proposition that increases in resource availability actually increase the difference in outcomes:
MY TAKE ON IT:
It is a very interesting book. I enjoy watching how the author turns herself into a pretzel trying to reconcile somehow the knowledge she obtained as a scientist with leftist dogmas that she was brainwashed into via higher quasi-education and the liberal environment she lives in. There are many funny examples, such as diatribes against Charles Murray and Richard Herrnstein’s work, that demonstrate a clear lack of understanding of this work. The same applies to the author’s hate of eugenics and a few other similar things.
However, I fully agree with the author’s conclusions and overall direction of this book. It is just ridiculous to divide the environment into nature vs. nurture. It is all combined into one indivisible system with a multitude of positive and negative feedback loops that make it all but impossible to isolate them from each other.
As to eugenics, it is just the application of scientific methods developed in agriculture to human beings. The problem is not that it is scientifically wrong. Since humans are biological objects, one can produce tall blond people using the same methods as were successfully used to create more productive milk cows. The attitude of eugenics is wrong because humans are not cows; they exist for their own sake, not to satisfy some collectivistic ideologues of Nazism or Communism. Therefore, a decent society should provide people with resources sufficient to pursue happiness, protect them from individuals whose perceived happiness demands the misery of others, and leave it at that.
Equal Rights Libertarian 