someday it would be interesting if someone were to superimpose epigenetics on memes. epigenetics is peculiar in that DNA can be modified through chromatin but still leave the DNA sequence of an organism untouched. what could this mean in the context of culture?
some interesting parallels can be drawn from the knowledge we possess on the trans generational behavior of genes and the similar processes of how transmission of culture propagates from mind to mind.
what does it all mean?
sometimes it's easier to see the latent things through analogy. take this for example..
when you are driving and you are at a stoplight, how many times does your mind change before the light turns green again and you continue driving? it should be noticed that your mind is always changing, however, the stoplight is the point at which a new cycle of thought begins and another ends, much like cell reproduction. now envision that you in your vehicle are a cell undergoing mitosis (cell division)..the amount of times you change your 'mind' at the stoplight would be analogous to how many genetic mutations can occur at random. thoughts are seemingly random and so are genetic mutations.
oncogenes (cancer cells) are cells that are continually running red lights! they break the traffic laws of cell reproduction. will we ever be able to stop all people that run red lights? will we ever be able to stop people from changing their minds at stoplights? these are the macro cosmic questions that cell biologists could be asking themselves to solve a problem not seen by the naked eye.
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