dagblog - Comments for "A Thing or Two About Twins"

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Donal — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 01:52:30 +0000

In reply to May I recommend The Cartoon

May I recommend The Cartoon

Verified Atheist — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 01:41:51 +0000

In reply to I am not going to be able to

May I recommend The Cartoon Guide to Genetics? (Seriously, that's an outstanding book.) There's also a Cartoon Guide to Physics that I actually used while teaching public high school instead of the godawful text book I was supposed to use. (Well, I did occasionally use the text book for the one or two topics not covered in the cartoon guide, but besides the cartoon guide being a more enjoyable read, it was also more accurate - not a single error in it, unlike our text book.)

Larry Gonick has written a lot of Cartoon Guides. I think I've read and enjoyed every single last one.

I am not going to be able to

artappraiser — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 01:29:58 +0000

In reply to If instead of "nature versus

I am not going to be able to join you in arguing with a National Geographic cover story, as even that low level of biological science is somewhat over my head. (Somehow I got through Botany 101 to fulfill the undergrad biological science requirement, but even in that they had a DNA/RNA section that pulled me down to my only C on my record. I just don't wanna git it, give me physics instead anytime.)

Perhaps my definition of

Verified Atheist — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 00:44:00 +0000

In reply to this "third factor" is

Perhaps my definition of "environment" is looser than yours (or the average person's), but I include womb conditions as part of that. Differences in coat color are governed primarily by epi-genetics, which in this particular case are a bit like rolling a die (or to be more precise, they're strongly non-linear). A little more chemical in this part of the womb or that part and one kitten has one pattern and another kitten, with the exact same genes, has a different pattern (or even color).

this "third factor" is

EmmaZahn — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 21:10:29 +0000

In reply to If instead of "nature versus

this "third factor" is covered under "environment",

Not necessarily. One documentary showed a cloned litter of kittens with as much variation in coloring as a normal litter.

It is way too soon in genetic studies to claim any final answers.

If instead of "nature versus

Verified Atheist — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 15:58:32 +0000

In reply to A Thing or Two About Twins

If instead of "nature versus nurture", one uses the almost equivalent "environment versus genetics", this "third factor" is covered under "environment", although that also underscores the "almost" in "almost equivalent".