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A review by ikon_biotin_jungle_lumen
The Gene: An Intimate History by Siddhartha Mukherjee
5.0
I rank this as one of the 10 most informative and thought-provoking books I have ever had the pleasure of reading. It became apparent within the first chapter why Dr. Siddhartha Mukherjee is a Pulitzer-winning author and scholar. As a biology-curious layman, I feel that this book was written for me. It at no point coddles the reader, but neither does it unduly baffle the reader with science. A near-perfect balance has been struck between readability and communication of wonderfully complex thought.
As a Christian and 6-day creationist, I was extremely curious to see Mukherjee's handling of the evolutionary development of the gene. As a whole, I must say that I was rather disappointed. I believe that much further elaboration was necessary for a work such as this. On the other hand, I must applaud Mukherjee for approaching the history of the gene as a scholar, who necessary cannot record observations about the inception of the unobservable. Multitudes of lesser scholars would stoop to portraying their own origin hypotheses as historical fact, rather than rightfully concluding that science cannot comprehend the unobservable.
Human genetics displays the masterful hand of God at work in the world's unfathomably complex and beautiful design. This statement following James Watson and Francis Crick's discovery of the double helix model leapt out—"The solution was so beautiful that it could not possibly be wrong." This beauty is something that cannot come to be by chance. In my mind, the unguided engine of macroevolution is an entirely unsatisfactory explanation for a structure such as DNA.
The issue of life and preservation was also well handled, but I came away with a somewhat bitter taste. The encounter with Ericka seemed to leave Mukherjee with an impression of what a wonderful person she was—and yet Mukherjee seems rather to wish that she had not been born. Surely many would wish that the same woman could be born free of genetic disease, but such suffering is often the crucible from which beautiful people are born. "If there is any doubt that genotypes can influence temperament or personality, then a single encounter with a Down child can lay that idea to rest."
I believe that the answer to such 'problems' as Downs children and other genetically aberrant people is not the termination of such in the womb. Until the nature of life is better understood, the systematic killing of aberrants is unacceptable. Humans are soul-bearing beings created in the image of God—cursed imperfections are our burden to bear, save for what remedies we may derive via God-granted ability and determined effort. We are not fetuses, objects, or extremities to be pruned. Man is no god to have such authority over his fellows.
As a Christian and 6-day creationist, I was extremely curious to see Mukherjee's handling of the evolutionary development of the gene. As a whole, I must say that I was rather disappointed. I believe that much further elaboration was necessary for a work such as this. On the other hand, I must applaud Mukherjee for approaching the history of the gene as a scholar, who necessary cannot record observations about the inception of the unobservable. Multitudes of lesser scholars would stoop to portraying their own origin hypotheses as historical fact, rather than rightfully concluding that science cannot comprehend the unobservable.
Human genetics displays the masterful hand of God at work in the world's unfathomably complex and beautiful design. This statement following James Watson and Francis Crick's discovery of the double helix model leapt out—"The solution was so beautiful that it could not possibly be wrong." This beauty is something that cannot come to be by chance. In my mind, the unguided engine of macroevolution is an entirely unsatisfactory explanation for a structure such as DNA.
The issue of life and preservation was also well handled, but I came away with a somewhat bitter taste. The encounter with Ericka seemed to leave Mukherjee with an impression of what a wonderful person she was—and yet Mukherjee seems rather to wish that she had not been born. Surely many would wish that the same woman could be born free of genetic disease, but such suffering is often the crucible from which beautiful people are born. "If there is any doubt that genotypes can influence temperament or personality, then a single encounter with a Down child can lay that idea to rest."
I believe that the answer to such 'problems' as Downs children and other genetically aberrant people is not the termination of such in the womb. Until the nature of life is better understood, the systematic killing of aberrants is unacceptable. Humans are soul-bearing beings created in the image of God—cursed imperfections are our burden to bear, save for what remedies we may derive via God-granted ability and determined effort. We are not fetuses, objects, or extremities to be pruned. Man is no god to have such authority over his fellows.