06w15:1 The Extended Phenotype Posted April 9th, 2006 by timothy. 0 Comments Good Reads Mailing List | 2006 week 15 number 1 (The extended phenotype) There’s this line in the Ghost in The Shell sequel, Innocence. As they fly over a city, one character says to the other, “Reminds me of the line ‘what the body creates, is as much an expression of DNA as the body itself.’ … If the essence of life is information carried in DNA, then society and civilization are just colossal memory systems… And a metropolis like this one, simply a sprawling external memory.” This idea is that of Richard Dawkin’s Extended Phenotype. Basically, if a beaver is a beaver because of it’s DNA, a beaver’s dam is also an expression of that DNA. Therefore, the CN Tower is also an expression of human DNA, as is every other aspect of our material culture. ——————————————————————— The Extended Phenotype | Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extended_phenotype —————————————- http://goodreads.timothycomeau.com To remove or add yourself to this list, go here emailed by Timothy on Sunday 09 April 2006 @ 1:26 AM
