From: <MemeLab@aol.com>
Date: Fri, 2 Apr 1999 13:38:24 EST
Subject: Re: A more "sciency"-sounding mysticism.
To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
In a message dated 4/1/99 12:46:12 AM Central Standard Time,
D.Gatherer@organon.nhe.akzonobel.nl writes:
>> >Genes are not really located anywhere in the organism. The DNA contains
the
>information that is the genotype, and the organism itself is the phenotype.
>The selection occurs through the agency of the phenotype, and the selective
>retention (heredity) occurs through the genotype.
Sorry can't agree with that. The genes are very definitely in the nucleus
(except of course the mitochondrial ones). If you said the genes are not
really located anywhere in the organism, you would definitely fail the level
2 Genetics course I used to teach. <<
Though I am waiting to hear your redition of genes and how they are not
abstract - I would like to ammend a slightly careless mistake in the
paragraph. Genes ARE located somewhere in the organism. If there wasn't a
physical mechanism somewhere associated with an abstract gene, then it would
be a *floating*abstraction* and floating abstractions do not exist except as
disassociated patterns in people's thinking.
Where they are located, or even whether they are located in one place is not
really essential to their being genes - only that they be located SOMEWHERE.
Of course knowing the mechanisms is important to furthering understanding in
genetics, but is not essential to identifying their status as biological
adaptive replications within an evolutionary algorithmical pattern.
-Jake
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