Holy
Genetics
“The
body itself is an information processor. Memory resides not just in
the brain, but in every cell. No wonder genetics bloomed along with
information theory. DNA is the quintessential information molecule,
the most advanced message processor at the cellular level—an
alphabet and a code, 6 billion bits to form a human being.”
James
Gleick
Are you a nerd? Do you
ever wonder why there are so many nerds now? Are we rewiring our
brains by looking at screens? I can't answer these questions, but I
admit to pondering them often. I worked with preschool kids and with
young adults with autism for many years, and I have several adult
friends who are on the spectrum. I don't see high functioning autism
as a disability, but as an evolutionary development. Perhaps
technology has facilitated the expression of this change, but it is
equally likely, at least to me, that the change has come at a time
when it is needed. In the words of Temple Grandin, “You don't
want people to be on the severe end of the spectrum. But if you got
rid of all the autism genetics, you wouldn't have science or art. All
you would have is a bunch of social 'yak-yaks.'” Some of our
greatest scientists and artists—including Albert Einstein,
Michelangelo, Mozart, even Thomas Jefferson—would now be diagnosed
as being on the autism spectrum, and there is a high concentration of
autism genetics in our current tech industry. These genes have always
existed, and now there's a societal need for them, and a vehicle for
expressing them.
The human body is a
marvel from the top of our heads to the tips of our toes. That it
comes together—most of the time flawlessly—from the splitting of
cells and dividing of chromosomes, is, to my mind, simply miraculous.
It's precision, its alignment, it's complicated wiring and plumbing,
is a divine work of art. And it is first and foremost a brilliant
communication system. Every cell is in communication with every other
cell—all 30 trillion of them, which doesn't even include the 40
trillion bacteria also living inside us. We are malleable and
responsive to our internal and external environments. Our genetic
inheritance gives us not only our physical and intellectual traits,
but also our personality traits, all of which stretch back down the
DNA chain of our ancestors to a time before humans were, well,
humans. One of my friends on the spectrum likes to tout his
neanderthal genes, yet he spent his career as a nuclear engineer.
Those two things exist together, and we carry the markers, as do our
children and all future children.
Appreciating the work of
genius that we are is important. It helps us to value ourselves and
to take care of ourselves—body, mind and spirit. You are the living
repository and expression of millions of years of divine creation.
Bask in that a minute.
In the Spirit,
Jane
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