6 ms·

Your understanding is half a century out of date. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epigenetics https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epigenetics Note that I'm not claimi

by dmd 2y ago

Your understanding is half a century out of date. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epigenetics https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epigenetics Note that I'm not claiming here that memories can be encoded in genes; I'm also not making a strong claim here that memories can be encoded epigenetically! What I am arguing against is the claim that the only possible method of transmission of traits is through DNA, which is what parent comment said, and has been out of date for quite some time.

humansareok1 2y ago
Oh yeah so you want to explain how Epigenetics can transfer the memory of my Grandfathers 17th Birthday Party to my brain?
- jvanderbot 2y ago
  ELI5 attempt: Your genes are a recipe book, not a blueprint. What recipe is chosen is based somewhat on environmental effects. When you reproduce, you pass on the book + the earmarks on the pages. In your comment, the word "Explicitly" is the controversial part. Of course a memory cannot be _explicitly_ (like .mp4? lol) encoded in genetics. But effects pass on, or so says the field. It's the same as how the word "Memories" in the title is doing a lot of hand-wavey hype generation. Can I share a password or birthday party during intercourse? Of course not.
  - humansareok1 2y ago
    >Of course a memory cannot be _explicitly_ (like .mp4? lol) encoded in genetics. Indeed so the answer to the question: Can you inherit memories from your ancestors? Is No. Full stop. You want to talk about how the vibes during your grandparents lives affected some obscure part of your parents health then ok. But these things are completely different.
    - moralestapia 2y ago
      >Can you inherit memories from your ancestors? Is No. Full stop. With our current knowledge, we cannot either prove or disprove this.
    - jvanderbot 2y ago
      Yeah - so, if you want to be right about your takedown of the title using narrow interpretations of "memories", you probably can be. But if you want a nuanced discussion of the article, we should soften the gaze a little. That's all I'm saying.
- francisofascii 2y ago
  Maybe your grandfather had chocolate cake at his party but it turned out bad and people got sick. Now today you has an unexplained aversion to chocolate cake.
  - CyberDildonics 2y ago
    You realize this isn't an explanation of how it would happen, which is what they asked for right? All you did was give an example of what this nonsense is supposed to be.
Angostura 2y ago
So, can you give any evidence or even point at a suggestion that inheritable epigenetics can encode inheritable memories?
- moralestapia 2y ago
  Not GP, but keep in mind that absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. We would still be cavemen with that attitude.
  - Angostura 2y ago
    We'd all be believing in Russell's teapot it we didn't at least ask the question
- biophysboy 2y ago
  Its not a brain memory. The argument is that epigenetic modifications can be inherited and thus the ancestor's environment is "remembered". As for how long it lasts and how much the memory is attenuated, well, that's another matter.

by dmd 2y ago

humansareok1 2y ago

Oh yeah so you want to explain how Epigenetics can transfer the memory of my Grandfathers 17th Birthday Party to my brain?

jvanderbot 2y ago
ELI5 attempt: Your genes are a recipe book, not a blueprint. What recipe is chosen is based somewhat on environmental effects. When you reproduce, you pass on the book + the earmarks on the pages. In your comment, the word "Explicitly" is the controversial part. Of course a memory cannot be _explicitly_ (like .mp4? lol) encoded in genetics. But effects pass on, or so says the field. It's the same as how the word "Memories" in the title is doing a lot of hand-wavey hype generation. Can I share a password or birthday party during intercourse? Of course not.
- humansareok1 2y ago
  >Of course a memory cannot be _explicitly_ (like .mp4? lol) encoded in genetics. Indeed so the answer to the question: Can you inherit memories from your ancestors? Is No. Full stop. You want to talk about how the vibes during your grandparents lives affected some obscure part of your parents health then ok. But these things are completely different.
  - moralestapia 2y ago
    >Can you inherit memories from your ancestors? Is No. Full stop. With our current knowledge, we cannot either prove or disprove this.
  - jvanderbot 2y ago
    Yeah - so, if you want to be right about your takedown of the title using narrow interpretations of "memories", you probably can be. But if you want a nuanced discussion of the article, we should soften the gaze a little. That's all I'm saying.
francisofascii 2y ago
Maybe your grandfather had chocolate cake at his party but it turned out bad and people got sick. Now today you has an unexplained aversion to chocolate cake.
- CyberDildonics 2y ago
  You realize this isn't an explanation of how it would happen, which is what they asked for right? All you did was give an example of what this nonsense is supposed to be.

Angostura 2y ago

So, can you give any evidence or even point at a suggestion that inheritable epigenetics can encode inheritable memories?

moralestapia 2y ago
Not GP, but keep in mind that absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. We would still be cavemen with that attitude.
- Angostura 2y ago
  We'd all be believing in Russell's teapot it we didn't at least ask the question
biophysboy 2y ago
Its not a brain memory. The argument is that epigenetic modifications can be inherited and thus the ancestor's environment is "remembered". As for how long it lasts and how much the memory is attenuated, well, that's another matter.