[ale] [OT] Omniscient, Omnipotent, Omnipresent or Not.

[Chris Ricker]

On Mon, 25 Aug 2003, da Black Baron wrote:

> > 1. You cannot prove that there is randomness in effect in our system.

I've mostly been ignoring this whole thread for obvious reasons, but it's 
time for those of us with genetics training to cry foul ;-)

> DUDE!   The way your DNA was spliced together was basically random, within the 
> given set of parameters- there was basically a 1/16 chance that you would end 
> up exactly as you are (given that each sperm and ova contains half a set of 
> genes,

It's a lot more complicated than that, and the probability calculation and 
resulting chance of you being you is *much* more difficult than that. You're 
completely ignoring independent assortment of chromosomes, homologous 
recombination, gene silencing, etc.

And that's assuming you buy into biological determinism (ie, that your genes 
are what make you "you"). There's lots of good evidence that isn't 
100% the case.

> and the odds of the hormones in your mother causing you to have that 
> extra chromasome)!  

Say what?!?! I have no idea what you're talking about, other than that it's
not true ;-)

later,
chris
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