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Aha, now we are getting somewhere: genes are a red herring. All the arguments regarding intelligence, DNA, memes, apes, irrelevant. You would have taken the sam

by curi 19y ago

Aha, now we are getting somewhere: genes are a red herring. All the arguments regarding intelligence, DNA, memes, apes, irrelevant. You would have taken the same position about mountains. Or, I take it, hurricanes, earthquake zones, forks, dolls, different types of houses, TV shows, anything (though some things are more or less influential). I guess to start with, you have said living in mountain regions is correlated with different kinds of culture. But you have not said by what mechanism it causes it. Which actually is the same question I kept asking about genes. So please do answer it.

Tichy 19y ago
No, it is not just a correlation. The environment influences the development, that's all - genes are also clever enough to use the information in the environment for a more efficient encoding. Are you asking me to explain in a news comment how the human brain develops from genes, how the brain adapts to the environment, how psychology works, and so on and so on? Not all steps in the development process are fully understood yet, but that doesn't mean that they don't exist. Although I guess also yes, I would have claimed that other things than genes can affect human psychology.
- curi 19y ago
  So, you don't have a complete theory of how the mountain, or gene, causes the personality change. You even agree with me in saying that no one does (as I said earlier). In your words, it's not "fully understood yet". However, you believe that when it is understood, then we will know that genes and mountains do this thing. But how do you know what the conclusion will be, now? Can you make up a possible mechanism of genetic causation? You don't have to prove this actual mechanism is being used, just invent one that could work. I understand the causation up to (for genes) causing more/less of a chemical in the body, larger/smaller muscles, causing defects in the eyes or exceptionally good vision, something like that. But how do you get from there to causing some significant effect in adult personalities? Like causing people to enjoy mountains, be republicans, or consider women bad at business.

by curi 19y ago

Tichy 19y ago

No, it is not just a correlation. The environment influences the development, that's all - genes are also clever enough to use the information in the environment for a more efficient encoding. Are you asking me to explain in a news comment how the human brain develops from genes, how the brain adapts to the environment, how psychology works, and so on and so on? Not all steps in the development process are fully understood yet, but that doesn't mean that they don't exist. Although I guess also yes, I would have claimed that other things than genes can affect human psychology.

curi 19y ago
So, you don't have a complete theory of how the mountain, or gene, causes the personality change. You even agree with me in saying that no one does (as I said earlier). In your words, it's not "fully understood yet". However, you believe that when it is understood, then we will know that genes and mountains do this thing. But how do you know what the conclusion will be, now? Can you make up a possible mechanism of genetic causation? You don't have to prove this actual mechanism is being used, just invent one that could work. I understand the causation up to (for genes) causing more/less of a chemical in the body, larger/smaller muscles, causing defects in the eyes or exceptionally good vision, something like that. But how do you get from there to causing some significant effect in adult personalities? Like causing people to enjoy mountains, be republicans, or consider women bad at business.