Bigthink - Idea Comments Feed

Comment on: "what a body creates is as much an expression of dna as the body itself" ...

Bigthink — Sat, 31 May 2008 05:59:40 +0100

i LOVE you
jesse...
and musycks
and FA
and HZ

whatever all that means...

Comment on: "what a body creates is as much an expression of dna as the body itself" ...

Bigthink — Sat, 31 May 2008 05:57:56 +0100

there is never an "excuse"

only a reason...

Comment on: "what a body creates is as much an expression of dna as the body itself" ...

Bigthink — Tue, 13 May 2008 17:55:42 +0100

by understanding what those hands are and being ourselves observers do we any longer have excuse?

for killing
for stealing
for hating
for behavior that is determental in general?

Comment on: "what a body creates is as much an expression of dna as the body itself" ...

Bigthink — Tue, 13 May 2008 16:39:20 +0100

Side note, not to try to distract, but I just realised I said it was Ghost in the Machine II, Its actually Ghost in the Shell II.

Sorry.

Comment on: "what a body creates is as much an expression of dna as the body itself" ...

Bigthink — Tue, 13 May 2008 06:57:22 +0100

what? i dont think your last post made sense. i think memes pull the strings. Ideas, religions, philosophies, books, sayings, jokes, music....so many things can influence the way we think about different issues.

Comment on: "what a body creates is as much an expression of dna as the body itself" ...

Bigthink — Mon, 12 May 2008 21:38:18 +0100

until you get an understanding of what is those hands whom have been pulling the strings really are... then maybe we can...

Comment on: "what a body creates is as much an expression of dna as the body itself" ...

Bigthink — Thu, 08 May 2008 10:42:12 +0100

Yes our brain is programmed to compensate for certain environmental stimuli, like overexposure to sunlight or seratonin. Our brain is able to change overtime thanks to our DNA. What shapes our brain, however, is not entirely upto the DNA (as your example of perscriptions show). I think ideas can have similar affects. Just like drugs can influence us, and even cause our bodies to change (thanks to the pliability of our brains), ideas can change our standerd modes of thinking about certain issues. The DNA makes change possible, but can not influence what hands are pulling the stings.

Comment on: "what a body creates is as much an expression of dna as the body itself" ...

Bigthink — Tue, 06 May 2008 16:49:46 +0100

you have my e-mail jesse... I'm always interested...

Comment on: "what a body creates is as much an expression of dna as the body itself" ...

Bigthink — Tue, 06 May 2008 12:35:54 +0100

while i dont have a problem with your idea facless, the idea that i am studying actually agrues that the enviroment can change the way our genes express themselves, a sort of macro-macro evolution, and its not really evolution because the ability for the gene to express itself that way was always there, its just the certain condition or envirmoment that caused that change in gene expression, just as my body may produce more melanomin when i am exposed to a lot of sun that ability to produce all that melanomin was already there, but my enviroment caused that chemical to produce at a faster rate, now lets transfer to an even more complicated chemical process or processes that go on in the brain, while medications produce relativley quick short term changes in the supply of chemcial X the idea of therapy and a holding enviroment purports that the long term exposure to a certain theraptuic enviroment will cause a gradual long term change in the indiviudal through tapping into that gentic power

i have written a small research paper on the subject and have post it before if anyone would like to delve into it further let me know and i will email it as bigthink's copy and paste function is awkward

Comment on: "what a body creates is as much an expression of dna as the body itself" ...

Bigthink — Tue, 06 May 2008 10:42:41 +0100

DNA does influence everything we do. How outgoing we are, how creative we are, how prone to alcohol/drug use, ect. ect. But I dont think DNA is competely responsible for everything that humans are and have created. I believe in meme theory (though my understanding of it is still very limited and the theory itself is still a new meme) and think that the ideas we encounter have the ability to change the way we think about certain issues, how we act/react in certain situations, and even things like the structure our society takes. Ancient Greece had a unique type of architecture but it spread with the culture and similiar buildings were found spread all around the mediterranean. The peoples dna didn't change, but they were influenced by a new meme. Another example would be how a person with addiction tendancies might become an alcoholic if a christian but not become one if a muslim. The dna is the same, but the idea influences his initial willingness to drink.

The idea is able to overcome genetic predisposition. The structure of our society has been constantly changing (compare ancient athens to modern new york or walled midievel cities compared to Los Angels). Our dna hasn't changed to produce this alteration of building design, methods, or materials, but our ideas concerning those three things have changed. Our minds are crafted by dna and manipulated by the ideas that reside within.

Comment on: "what a body creates is as much an expression of dna as the body itself" ...

Bigthink — Mon, 05 May 2008 23:18:21 +0100

are you familiar with holding enviroments? proponents of theraputic recovery from things mainly pertaining to addictions, wether drugs, alchohol, you name it, the idea is that we are basically genetically identical, with those slight variations making us each look, sound, taste, and feel a little differnt from those around us, however gene expression is the more critical aspect of our mental health, for example an alcholic always had the genetic suspectibility to alcholism, however he wasnt born desireing alchohol,drinking the alchohol and drinking it consitently however induced the expression of this gene which may have related to alcholism

1. All mental processes, even the most complex psychological pro-cesses, derive from operations of the brain%u2026.
2. Genes and their protein products are important determinants of the pattern of interconnections between neurons in the brain and the details of their functioning. Genes and specifically combinations of genes exert significant control over behavior%u2026.
3. Altered genes do not, by themselves, explain the variance of a given major mental illness. Social or developmental factors also are very important contributions%u2026. Behavior and social factors exert actions on the brain by feeding back upon it to modify the expression of genes and thus the function of nerve cells. Learning%u2026 produces alterations in gene expression. All of nurture is ultimately expressed as nature.
4. Alterations in gene expression induced by learning give rise to changes in patterns of neuronal connections.
5. As psychotherapy%u2026is effective and produces long-term changes in behavior, it does so through learning, by producing changes in gene expression that alter the strength of synaptic connections and structural changes that alter the anatomical pattern of interconnections between nerve cells of the brain.

and yes this does have biblical implications....;)

Comment on: "what a body creates is as much an expression of dna as the body itself" ...

Bigthink — Sun, 04 May 2008 04:47:35 +0100

He's delicious... that little runt..

and the Bible will have to get by without my respect and approval... it seems to be doing ok!

how narrow minded of your atheist friends!
I like Xtians... some of my best friends etc..

rock on pokoj, peace to you.

Comment on: "what a body creates is as much an expression of dna as the body itself" ...

Bigthink — Sun, 04 May 2008 04:42:51 +0100

Stewie: Did you forge my name? How dare you! Is this backwards "S" supposed to be cute? I'm going to crap double for you tonight.

Comment on: "what a body creates is as much an expression of dna as the body itself" ...

Bigthink — Sun, 04 May 2008 04:39:59 +0100

Stewie: Beautiful. And while we're at it we can light up a dubey and watch porn.
Peter: Rea... Really?

Comment on: "what a body creates is as much an expression of dna as the body itself" ...

Bigthink — Sun, 04 May 2008 04:37:24 +0100

Its not the lack of exposure to atheism... I have plenty of atheist friends... some no longer since I told them I now believe in God, they disowned me, however it is more:

"The stupid claims of the bible/koran are a sideshow, no thinking person can take them literally, so the faithful have no choice but to recede into metaphor."

Thats what bothers me... even though I know it is not directed personally. What you may not see in the Bible others find as a great source of inspiration, and though we acknowledge the shortcomings, it is still our sacred teachings, and holds a place... you know... right there...

I was an angry anti-Catholic rebel for a while... but I got over blaming God for that...

Comment on: "what a body creates is as much an expression of dna as the body itself" ...

Bigthink — Sun, 04 May 2008 04:30:40 +0100

Family Guy rocks... Stewie is brilliant.

and I have never been a quiet type,... I'll talk anyone's ear off anytime.. my main recording engineer is a devout evangelical, so in down times mixing music I stir him along... poor boy!... well, you have to have a hobby!

Comment on: "what a body creates is as much an expression of dna as the body itself" ...

Bigthink — Sun, 04 May 2008 04:27:36 +0100

I think a lot of believers just don't have much exposure to the atheist mind set? so our ideas seem offensive? but equally to us some of your ideas seem offensive? so while we'll argue them (sometimes fiercly) it's important to know that we are both human, with an equal right to express those beliefs.. it's pointless I think, to just close off to the counter argument, when you believe that unless we put this topic in perspective then we'll make it even more difficult for the next generations to make sense out of it.. and it's not going away in a hurry.

Comment on: "what a body creates is as much an expression of dna as the body itself" ...

Bigthink — Sun, 04 May 2008 04:26:49 +0100

And with a Christian those things are always personal...

I'm not one for social niceties either... actually I don't talk much... I'm much better at getting my point across typing, and when I'm doing that I usually have time to dispel anger... However in actual face to face conversation, if I were Steven Hawking I'd be quite the social butterfly... minus the little ALS problem...

That was distasteful... I take too much of my humour from South Park and Family Guy...

Comment on: "what a body creates is as much an expression of dna as the body itself" ...

Bigthink — Sun, 04 May 2008 04:21:28 +0100

Got it... its not so much obvious anger as intentionally demeaning references to the bible and Christian believers.

Comment on: "what a body creates is as much an expression of dna as the body itself" ...

Bigthink — Sun, 04 May 2008 04:16:15 +0100

re the anger thing... Jesse copped that a while back.. and I know I'm brusque, but I'm one of the least angry people I know!
I think my directness is read by yanks as anger when it's just not. You guys have a very polite veneer to your society, ours has a little too much Irish in it, where we'll not bother with some of the social politeness and just say what we think.. it can come off as abrasive I guess.. but I try not to get personal... unless I think the poster deserves it..then gloves off. hey, I'm only human after all!!