10-17-2013, 08:33 AM
(This post was last modified: 10-17-2013, 08:35 AM by stevebowers.)
Every time a new relationship between a gene complex and a behavioural trait is even suggested by research, the media trumpet it as the discovery of a 'gene for intelligence' or a 'gene for gayness'. The reality is much more complex, but even geneticists are only just beginning to understand how complex this relationship is.
To make sense of the relationships between the genome and the health of individuals and the way they behave, we will need big data, big processors, and a way of conceiving and testing theories, and creating sophisticated models, rapidly and iteratively that is independent of human preconceptions. The same is true of research into the relationship between neurobiology and consciousness.
I know this is already starting to happen, but it is only the start of a process that will probably end by taking much of the donkey work of science out of human hands. We can't hope to replicate billions of years of evolution using pen and paper.
To make sense of the relationships between the genome and the health of individuals and the way they behave, we will need big data, big processors, and a way of conceiving and testing theories, and creating sophisticated models, rapidly and iteratively that is independent of human preconceptions. The same is true of research into the relationship between neurobiology and consciousness.
I know this is already starting to happen, but it is only the start of a process that will probably end by taking much of the donkey work of science out of human hands. We can't hope to replicate billions of years of evolution using pen and paper.