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| DNA is not alive. |
Let's do some 'Dredd Language' and other Dredd stuff (😏).
Kidding aside, 'Nomenclature' is "a system of naming things, especially in a branch of science."
There are historical episodes of 'nomenclature catastrophes' where maladjusted nomenclature practices have caused deadly tragedies (Good Nomenclature: A Matter of Life and Death).
There are also historical episodes of nomenclature pandemics where professional mouths become contaminated to the point of cacophony on steroids.
One case in point:
"The modern evolutionary synthesis is a 20th-century union of ideas from
several biological specialties which provides a widely accepted account
of evolution. It is also referred to as the new synthesis, the modern
synthesis, the evolutionary synthesis, millennium synthesis and the
neo-Darwinian synthesis.
The synthesis, produced between 1936 and 1947, reflects the consensus
about how evolution proceeds. The previous development of population
genetics, between 1918 and 1932, was a stimulus, as it showed that
Mendelian genetics was consistent with natural selection and gradual
evolution. The synthesis is still, to a large extent, the current
paradigm in evolutionary biology.
The modern synthesis solved difficulties and confusions caused by the specialisation and poor communication between biologists in the early years of the 20th century."
(The Uncertain Gene - 2). Another, more dangerous, and more current example is the cacophony caused by a lack of good nomenclature concerning the distinction between 'life' and 'death' or biology versus abiology (Agnotology: The Surge, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20; Weekend Rebel Science Excursion - 27; The Uncertain Gene - 9).
Dredd Blog has realized the need for another such 'synthesis' because of the need for a better scientific nomenclature with regards to the difference between 'machine' and 'animal':
"This new paradigm shift I am thinking of today is more Earth shaking
than that paradigm shift, and many others like it, so hang on, because
here for your close perusal is the paradigm shift at issue:
A new paradigm exists for understanding how cells function. Scientists are recognizing that the cell is a highly integrated biological factory with a modular architecture. Each modular unit acts as a molecular machine. These machines have highly specialized functions and are large assemblies of proteins and nucleic acids. They range in size from about 10 - 150 nanometers (10-9 m) [10-9 m] and provide environments in which chemical species can interact in a highly specific fashion. Molecular machines also function as mechano-chemical energy transducers, converting chemical free energy into mechanical energy for cellular processes. They operate cyclically, and can reset themselves.
With the genetic information gained from the U.S. Human Genome Project and DOE's Microbial Genome Program, scientists now have the raw information with which to observe, manipulate, characterize and, ultimately, replicate these large protein assemblies. Using conventional and newly developed microscopy techniques, PBD researchers, through an initiative called Microscopies of Molecular Machines (M3), are creating a toolkit for probing the inner workings of these molecular machines.
(The New Paradigm: The Physical Universe Is Mostly Machine). And just to enhance the psyche out a bit more:
"That would seem to be a form of intelligent "non-life," but let's keep
our notion subject to the difficulty of defining "life" and "machine":
The definition of life is as enormous a problem as the phenomenon of life itself. One could easily collect from the literature more than 100 different definitions, none satisfactory enough to be broadly accepted. What should the definition contain, to be suitable for all varieties of observable life? Humans, animals, plants, microorganisms. Do viruses also belong to life?
...
“Our cells, and the cells of all organisms, are composed of molecular machines. These machines are built of component parts, each of which contributes a partial function or structural element to the machine. How such sophisticated, multi-component machines could evolve has been somewhat mysterious, and highly controversial.” Professor Lithgow said.
(Did Abiotic Intelligence Precede Biotic Intelligence?). The clearing up of the aforesaid nomenclature would also help us to better understand the most populous machine entity on the planet (On The Origin Of The Home Of COVID-19 - 24) ... and its religion (The Machine Religion).
One of the most destructive and prevalent forms of bad nomenclature is the incursion of teleology (If Cosmology Is "Off," How Can Biology Be "On?").
The next post in this series is here, the previous post of this series is here.
Some get it ... (link)
ReplyDeleteSome do not ... (Small Brains Considered)
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