Silk's origin

Gerry Quinn · 12 Oct 2011, 21:32 · from 2011-October.txt.gz

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From: gerry at bindweed.com (Gerry Quinn)
Date: Wed, 12 Oct 2011 22:32:24 +0100
Subject: (urth) Silk's origin
In-Reply-To: <4E95FF22.1050805 at verizon.net>
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From: David Stockhoff 
> On 10/12/2011 4:23 PM, James Wynn wrote:

> > Well, just sharing selected genes would not really make Silk a "son of 
> > Typhon". That would be true of any cousin of Typhon or any chimpanzee 
> > (as Gerry pointed out).

> I have to remind myself sometimes that I am addressing a bunch of 
> engineers. :D

> (1) Is percentage of shared genes the only way to compare species? 
> Obviously not.
> (2) If chimps and humans are 99% the same, then that pretty much kills 
> that usefulness of that viewpoint. Further, most of the 99% is junk, 
> rendering the figure meaningless. Is there a biologist in the house?

But isn?t it you who is promulgating the view that the shared genes are significant?

> (3) If God walked the earth 10 generations ago, and I had some of His 
> genes spliced in so that I could throw thunderbolts, you can be damn 
> sure I'd call myself the Son of God and throw thunderbolts at you if you 
> gave a peep. And so would you. "Cousin" would not do it.

Leadership skills are not a special ability distinct from the abilities of the human race in general, as the ability to shoot thunderbolts would be.

When we attach significance to someone being related to another person, we are talking about large constellations of genes.  If somebody has Typhon?s nose, and we suspect he is related to Typhon, we take account of it because we imagine he may have many characteristics of Typhon, not just the nose.  If we knew that Typhon was so proud of his nose that he had his nose-shape genes injected into countless embryos, the matter would be much less interesting ? just a nose shape, not Typhon?s nose-shape.

> Point being, Silk has some of Typhon's superiority, if we accept this 
> theory. Naturally, if you don't think Typhon is in any way superior, 
> this doesn't work so well---you would indeed be talking about mundane 
> traits.

Leadership is not quite as mundane as blond hair, but it is not that rare.  Indeed, I?d expect that if if indeed there are ponderable genes for leadership ? a questionable matter given that it must depend strongly on nurture as well as nature ? there are multiple gene complexes, and Typhon?s technicians would probably have used different combinations in different embryos.

> > 2) Why, when asked about Silk's "ancestry" did Wolfe say "he was the 
> > son of the Calde and his mistress"? His ancestry would move a step 
> > back beyond Typhon.
> Ah, well. Some things are inexplicable.

Maybe Wolfe was just indicating that Silk?s genetic parents are basically irrelevant to the story.  

- Gerry Quinn

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