4 ms·

Everything we are judged on - appearance, intelligence, earning potential - is a random dice roll of DNA that none of us control. Yet people take credit (pride

Everything we are judged on - appearance, intelligence, earning potential - is a random dice roll of DNA that none of us control. Yet people take credit (pride or shame) for these traits. Pondering this has left me more detached and unimpressed with the human society game and competition... but what else is there? What am "I", if anything, beyond the randomly assigned DNA-based traits?

cjbgkagh 4y ago
The same random DNA lottery applies to women. I think the difference is the normalization of cruelty and inefficiencies in the dating market. I think a lot of women end up deeply unhappy but by the time they’re that age they’re largely ignored.
- ponder4722 4y ago
  For sure. I was thinking of human beings (all life forms maybe), not just men.
- ss108 4y ago
  It applies way harder and more cruelly to women as far as dating goes. A physically unattractive man with a good personality + social skills can do very well with women. Same cannot really be said of a physically unattractive woman.
  - cjbgkagh 4y ago
    Certainly, I begrudge the normalization of cruelty for short men and unattractive women. It’s not the first time people have been cruel, it certainly won’t be the last. In my social circles those exhibiting such cruelty would be quickly ostracized. Similarly if someone was racist. For that reason it’s not something I’ve had to face but I believe people when they tell me their experiences with it.
Crabber 4y ago
The problem is that you see yourself as a completely isolated individual rather than a continuation of your ancestor's genetics. You don't have a "random dice roll of DNA", you have a very specific lineage of DNA passed to you by your parents. You are the sum of your parents, and a reflection of all of your ancestors before you. I don't see anything irrational with taking pride (or shame) in the ancestral line that resulted in your genetics.
- ponder4722 4y ago
  I also had nothing to do with picking my ancestors. I agree, it's not a dice roll in the physical sense; it's connected to previous DNA.
  - Crabber 4y ago
    >I also had nothing to do with picking my ancestors You are the product of your ancestors. What you're saying is like a tree branch saying "I had nothing to do with picking my tree". A tree branch doesn't exist as an isolated individual from the tree and then get randomly assigned to a tree, it only exists because it was created by the tree. If the tree hadn't created it, then it wouldn't randomly belong to another tree, it just wouldn't exist at all.
- imtringued 4y ago
  By that logic every human has everything they need from birth. Why would your genes set you up for failure? They obviously aren't. What has changed is the environment and the existing gene pool (apparently?) is under immense selective pressure but why? I think the biggest change is online dating. It has constrained the "selection function" to things that can be compressed into a picture and profile text. It may look like it is biased toward certain genes but at the same time it is also wholly incomplete in that regard. You don't even get to hear someone's voice which is purely derived from genetics!
astrange 4y ago
> Everything we are judged on - appearance, intelligence, earning potential - is a random dice roll of DNA that none of us control. This is not true, so you don’t have to worry about any conclusions you came to because of it. “Heritable traits” does not mean “genetic traits” and there are quite a lot of things that happen you after you stop being a zygote.

cjbgkagh 4y ago

The same random DNA lottery applies to women. I think the difference is the normalization of cruelty and inefficiencies in the dating market. I think a lot of women end up deeply unhappy but by the time they’re that age they’re largely ignored.

ponder4722 4y ago
For sure. I was thinking of human beings (all life forms maybe), not just men.
ss108 4y ago
It applies way harder and more cruelly to women as far as dating goes. A physically unattractive man with a good personality + social skills can do very well with women. Same cannot really be said of a physically unattractive woman.
- cjbgkagh 4y ago
  Certainly, I begrudge the normalization of cruelty for short men and unattractive women. It’s not the first time people have been cruel, it certainly won’t be the last. In my social circles those exhibiting such cruelty would be quickly ostracized. Similarly if someone was racist. For that reason it’s not something I’ve had to face but I believe people when they tell me their experiences with it.

Crabber 4y ago

The problem is that you see yourself as a completely isolated individual rather than a continuation of your ancestor's genetics. You don't have a "random dice roll of DNA", you have a very specific lineage of DNA passed to you by your parents. You are the sum of your parents, and a reflection of all of your ancestors before you. I don't see anything irrational with taking pride (or shame) in the ancestral line that resulted in your genetics.

ponder4722 4y ago
I also had nothing to do with picking my ancestors. I agree, it's not a dice roll in the physical sense; it's connected to previous DNA.
- Crabber 4y ago
  >I also had nothing to do with picking my ancestors You are the product of your ancestors. What you're saying is like a tree branch saying "I had nothing to do with picking my tree". A tree branch doesn't exist as an isolated individual from the tree and then get randomly assigned to a tree, it only exists because it was created by the tree. If the tree hadn't created it, then it wouldn't randomly belong to another tree, it just wouldn't exist at all.
imtringued 4y ago
By that logic every human has everything they need from birth. Why would your genes set you up for failure? They obviously aren't. What has changed is the environment and the existing gene pool (apparently?) is under immense selective pressure but why? I think the biggest change is online dating. It has constrained the "selection function" to things that can be compressed into a picture and profile text. It may look like it is biased toward certain genes but at the same time it is also wholly incomplete in that regard. You don't even get to hear someone's voice which is purely derived from genetics!

astrange 4y ago

> Everything we are judged on - appearance, intelligence, earning potential - is a random dice roll of DNA that none of us control. This is not true, so you don’t have to worry about any conclusions you came to because of it. “Heritable traits” does not mean “genetic traits” and there are quite a lot of things that happen you after you stop being a zygote.