• Wheaties [she/her]
    hexagon
    ·
    edit-2
    2 years ago

    Life is a state of low entropy that perpetuates itself through time. DNA is just a part of the overall mechanism.

    Think of it like a parts manual in the glove-box of a car. To say the car exists to move the manual from place to place would be an absurd summary of the car. Take the manual out, and throw it into deep space -- it's now meaningless. It only works in the context of an industry that builds cars, of workers who can read and understand the text. You couldn't build a car from just the manual. Similarly, you couldn't recreate a creature from just its DNA. The chromosome is meaningless without the context of the cell.

    • GrandpaOpal [none/use name]
      ·
      2 years ago

      Think of it like a parts manual in the glove-box of a car. To say the car exists to move the manual from place to place would be an absurd summary of the car.

      What do you think a virus is buddy? It’s literally just genetic material propagating itself without the need for a body. Your car analogy doesn't stand. Scientists don’t even consider viruses to be alive in the traditional sense but they still spread regardless. You and I are just a different way to spread that same demonic molecule. You are a flesh puppet for a entity that isn’t even intelligent enough to be considered alive. It goes on “living” but you and I die; the game was rigged from the start.

        • GrandpaOpal [none/use name]
          ·
          2 years ago

          This isn't a question of semantic language, it's an attempt to overturn the popular idea that "My DNA is myself."

          You are not DNA, you are a by-product to ensure the survival and propagation of your DNA. If DNA could spread more efficiently without you, it would do so. The only difference between a virus, essentially just rogue DNA/RNA, and a human being is a question of strategy. You and your DNA are separate entities.

      • Wheaties [she/her]
        hexagon
        ·
        edit-2
        2 years ago

        The analogy works fine. A virus cannot propagate in a vacuum, it does need a body. Specifically the body of a compatible cell.

        • MF_COOM [he/him]
          ·
          2 years ago

          Wait are you trying to suggest that instead of having an idealist quality things have dialectical natures?

        • GrandpaOpal [none/use name]
          ·
          2 years ago

          Imagine acknowledging that DNA has the same relationship to a human as a virus does to a cell and then thinking that's a good thing.

          What does it mean when the body is entirely secondary to the propagation of a molecule? A virus destroys the cell without regard because it's only "goal" is to spread itself regardless of whether or not its beneficial to the cell. The only difference between a virus and your DNA is a question of strategy.

          • Wheaties [she/her]
            hexagon
            ·
            2 years ago

            You're still ascribing more importance to DNA than it deserves. The overall system of a living body is what gets propagated, chromosomes are just one part of the mechanism by which that occurs.

    • GrandpaOpal [none/use name]
      ·
      2 years ago

      You couldn’t build a car from just the manual. Similarly, you couldn’t recreate a creature from just its DNA. The chromosome is meaningless without the context of the cell.

      What do you think a virus is buddy? It's literally just genetic material propagating itself without the need for a body. Scientists don't even consider viruses to be alive in the traditional sense but they still spread regardless. You and I are just a different way to spread that same demonic molecule. You are a flesh puppet for a entity that isn't even intelligent enough to be considered alive. It goes on "living" but you and I die; the game was rigged from the start.