Assassin's creed Genetic Memory

joshua 1 9

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OK, I know NOTHING, so don't ask me any questions. I am here to ask questions. Is Genetic Memory possible or not? Again I do not know anything about any of this stuff.

"Genetic memory is the collection of memories of one's ancestors that are passed down into subsequent generations through DNA. It enables instinctive skills in animals, and acted as an archive of history in humans."

https://blogs.ancestry.com/cm/assassins-creed-ancestral-memory-science-based-or-total-fiction/

"Rats raised by bad mothers grew up to be nervous wrecks, as a result of methyl groups attaching to their genes regulating the production of glucocorticoid receptors, which regulate sensitivity to stress hormones."
 
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TuxAme

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I've played the games. I like them, but I highly doubt that such a thing is possible. DNA is a collection of chemicals and such, and I find it highly unlikely that we could translate memories into something biological or chemical- and doing it in reverse even more unlikely- but actual scientists (I've just taken A&P and chemistry classes) would know better than I.
 
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timewerx

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In paranormal studies, a person's memories can be transferred even to inanimate objects.

I actually consider it quite plausible from my supernatural experiences that I won't discuss.

I mean, if that can happen with non-living objects or non-organic matter, then why not with DNA?
 
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joshua 1 9

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Tanj

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OK, I know NOTHING, so don't ask me any questions. I am here to ask questions. Is Genetic Memory possible or not?

Not how assassin's creed portrays it, no.

"Genetic memory is the collection of memories of one's ancestors that are passed down into subsequent generations through DNA.

False.

It enables instinctive skills in animals

True

and acted as an archive of history in humans."

False

"Rats raised by bad mothers grew up to be nervous wrecks, as a result of methyl groups attaching to their genes regulating the production of glucocorticoid receptors, which regulate sensitivity to stress hormones."

Passing on of physiological characteristics through epigenetic inheritance is no where near what is portrayed in Assassin's Creed.
 
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DogmaHunter

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OK, I know NOTHING, so don't ask me any questions. I am here to ask questions. Is Genetic Memory possible or not? Again I do not know anything about any of this stuff.

"Genetic memory is the collection of memories of one's ancestors that are passed down into subsequent generations through DNA. It enables instinctive skills in animals, and acted as an archive of history in humans."

https://blogs.ancestry.com/cm/assassins-creed-ancestral-memory-science-based-or-total-fiction/

"Rats raised by bad mothers grew up to be nervous wrecks, as a result of methyl groups attaching to their genes regulating the production of glucocorticoid receptors, which regulate sensitivity to stress hormones."

Is it possible? Perhaps. I don't know. To my knowledge, it doesn't exist on this planet though.

How would that even work? Memories, as we understand them, are things in the brain. To make them "genetic" and inheritable, creatures would have to "construct" this DNA as they experience things in life. Sounds rather strange.
 
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LutheranGuy123

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I have a degree in Biomedical Science. I'm not allowed to use my preferred word to describe Assassin's Creed's "science" on this forum, but it involves the end result of a bull eating grass.
 
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joshua 1 9

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the idea certainly bears some similarity to what Carl Jung called 'The Collective Unconscious.'
There is very little written about a collective conscious. Although in books like: "To Kill a Mockingbird" the subject is touched upon. Also "Lord of the Flies". I read a book called "Popular Myths and the Madness of Crowds". I actually made a fair amount of money from that book because it helped me to understand why people are willing to pay absurd prices for things sometimes. When I explained it to my wife she was more better at it then I was. But she has her degree in sociology so she has more education in that area then I do.

Quantum physics does seem to be adding a bit of information to the subject now.
 
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FrumiousBandersnatch

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Seems to me that if 'genetic memory' was more than just a variation in the potential for developing some trait, toddlers wouldn't have to learn to walk, and so-on. One might expect such basic survival tools to take precedence over more sophisticated concepts.

It's also possible that some studies underestimate how early babies pick up on social cues; for example, there's good evidence that language development begins in the womb.
 
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joshua 1 9

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In what respect?
In things like an atom can be in two different places at the same time. The way that atoms can have an effect on each other even though they are separated by distance.
 
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FrumiousBandersnatch

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In things like an atom can be in two different places at the same time. The way that atoms can have an effect on each other even though they are separated by distance.
The first is an approximation of the situation, and typically involves particles smaller than atoms; it's not so much they can be in two places at the same time, but that they have no definite position - their position is described by a probability wave function with multiple peaks of varying probability.

The second sounds like entanglement, and the 'spooky action at a distance' is just one interpretation of the phenomenon. But in all interpretations, no classical information can be transferred, so no communication or signalling.

So, no; neither of those add anything useful to concepts of consciousness, and 'collective consciousness' or Jung's 'collective unconscious', only seem to make sense as a metaphor for shared cultural & social values.
 
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Dynadin

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So, no; neither of those add anything useful to concepts of consciousness, and 'collective consciousness' or Jung's 'collective unconscious', only seem to make sense as a metaphor for shared cultural & social values.

This is certainly off-topic from the initial post, but in my experience of studying Jung, alot of what is in the collective unconscious isn't shared merely from the culture from which it manifests, but from a wide swath of human history, from cultures which had no direct relation to the person(s) involved. Jung himself was puzzled by this and could offer up only conjecture as to its ultimate origin.
 
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joshua 1 9

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So, no; neither of those add anything useful to concepts of consciousness, and 'collective consciousness' or Jung's 'collective unconscious', only seem to make sense as a metaphor for shared cultural & social values.
I am told the modern book dealing with this subject is "UP FROM EDEN" by Ken Wilber.
 
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Tanj

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Wow, I got that off of wiki, you may want to go in and edit the information so that it is more accurate.

I don't think the Assassin's Creed wiki is looking for accuracy, nor is it a good place for science information.
 
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joshua 1 9

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I have a degree in Biomedical Science. I'm not allowed to use my preferred word to describe Assassin's Creed's "science" on this forum, but it involves the end result of a bull eating grass.
Which would explain the state of our public school system. With our youth spending so much time playing these sort of games.
 
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