"The A in apurinic means - no purine... just like Asexual reproduction = no sex... (pauses) uh.. nonono... just because I said no sex, I've got this whole bunch of teenagers half-awake now waking up."Hilarious. =)
No sex = no life?
Westerners seem to get on with sex all the time (and see what they get: Sexually transmitted dses. Herpes Simplex Virus, Human Papilloma Virus, AIDs, Hepatitis B,) Now, this may be my ethnocentric view of them - they don't practise abstinence (as influenced by hollywood).
On the other extreme, in our normally conservative Singaporean society, adults don't talk openly about sex (except bloggers like Xia Xue, new age deviants/ sexually deprived teens). Imagine the likelihood of 2 people of different genders discussing over the issue seriously, without squirming in discomfort; or light-heartedly; making small jokes over a cup of tea or laughing all over the couch in a talk show. I would say, unlikely - due to body consciousness among both genders.
In Malaysia, measures are being introduced to prevent off-colour jokes, obscene hand signals, vulgarities, sexual harassment, from polluting the workplace environment. However, it was stressed that an open discussion of sex during meetings, and shaking hands were deemed to be okay.
Currently, our society is having 'livestrong' bands, and teens swearing oaths of "no sex, before marriage". I wonder how many would live by that oath.
Firstly, all living things know that sex (reproduction) is neccesary for the continual introduction of species into 'the game'. Fluctuations in the genetic stock are experienced all the time (mutants with extra / messed up DNA). Evolution is a theory that implies, we are improving all the time, adapting to environmental conditions. But one fundamental question remains to be addressed in Darwin's theory: accelerating towards what end? We can only begin to speculate.
MY THOUGHTS:
Who the hell's playing us around? Are we in a genetic experiment? (God Emperor of Dune / 'The Island'.. never watched the movie, but may be similar) Is there limited time for the human race? (concept of Apocalypse) What's existence more than a big game? How do we know that life goes on in us after we're gone? How do we know that our religions teach us truth, and are not brainwashing us all the time, the social bodies growing power in membership? How much truth can we argue about over a religion?
MY QUESTIONS:
How does a pig know that he is being raised for ham and pork sausages?
How does a hen know that her life would be one of monotony, in a chicken coop?
How does a dog know that he will forever be a domesticated slave?
How does a chimpanzee knows he is being kept alive for an experiment?
Why do bacterial E. Coli colonies keep growing on a batch culture, if they know that nutrients will be exhausted, and time would run out for them, literally killed by their own excrement?
How does a human know when the end of life will come? 46... unsolvable! (coincidently, the # of human chromosomes)
Truth is, they don't know (functionalist perspective: why would they need to know?) This facilitates our power and continual exploitation over them. Unless you put it nicely, as top predators, we provide protection over these lesser beings from other predators... (their awareness of their plight might make them depressed, give them no reason to live, or they might rebel against the system - conflict perspective).
I started thinking about how the possible fates in life development narrow as time passes, relating to what I've learnt from Cell Biology.
"From the first line of the first page, to the end of the last page..."a nice lyric by Coldplay.
Optimists in this life often see life as the road to infinity (infinite possibilites). In God Emperor of Dune, Moneo keeps looking on to Lord Leto for instructions. He has already lost all direction in his life. So if you were a Christian, would you believe in everything that your religion advocates? Or would you only pick and apply principles to your life that you agree with? I believe that religions do teach good stuff, designing various lifestyles/ philosophies to live by. They are cultures. And cultures must adapt to times, so as to prevent the erosion of societal values (cultural-leveling) and culture-shocks within a given population.
The theory of biogenesis states that all beings are created by god. This can be exemplified by a game of 'Monopoly'. God decides which players are in, which are out, what the moves are, by 'randomly' manipulating throwing dice. However, there's no way we can see god. God would be the 'top predator' if he does actively participate in our system. There's no way to find out, and no reason to speculate.
From a sociological perspective, we are part of a larger society (sociobiology, perhaps). Humans practise abstinence, because we are at the top of the food chain (we only get murdered by one another). Animals mate and reproduce all the time, in the wild, fighting for their territory and mating privileges. Cause if they don't, we'd all be vegetarians; or indirectly, there would be too high a level of oxygen on earth (because the growth of plants are not checked by herbivores); and the latter, carnivores in the food chain.
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Basically, sex (male/female) is really just a label for us to identify with whilst we play 'the game'. Gender roles are society's form of order. Why do you think Muslim women are so disadvantaged (the fuss of wearing a tudung (headscarf/veils) all the time - although) in contrast to men? Certain measures are put in place to strike a balance in society (not egalitarian, but to achieve functionality). Put it this way, I speculate it is some form of social control. Women in modern societies have to doll up their faces, maintain their shapely bodies; while some men can look shit and scold vulgarities. This is clearly 'unfair'.
Why are women at a comparative disadvantage and demand for women's rights all the time? From young, they are socialised to their gender roles, until we have recently introduced new forms of culture (ie. meritocracy), such that women can achieve the same status in society... In our fair Singaporean society, women are protected by the law. Damsels may shout molest in public places, making heads turn; or in divorces, women would get custody of children, and a higher amount of compensation as compared to males. Concerning education, women get into universities 2 years earlier than their male counterparts which serve mandatory NS.
They are not just set rules of engagement in 'the game'. They may act to influence our body consciousness, our behaviour and interaction in society.
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[Symbolism : The obvious reason why Coldplay's new album was named X & Y was because Males have the XY chromosome, and Coldplay is a fully male band. Presenting a view from a feminist perspective, Coldplay are trying to emphasise their male superiority (see following post).] In another sense, fertilisation: X + Y (gametes) -> Z (zygote)
Scientific knowledge has opened up new frontiers for human asexual reproduction - clones. The main concerns - think about it - if cloning procedures were made readily available to the public, we might just exhaust our wealth of natural resources on earth, just like E. coli in a batch culture; unless nutrients are continually being replenished.
There has got to be some control over the population. If God is present, we will be punished. If we deal out punishment amongst ourselves, we risk more reckless killing in dense, compact, overcrowded populations (US school shootings). Bacteria may synthesise antibiotics in a closed culture system; while we take up firearms and promote barbaric behaviour. (Ask yourself: what happens in a war? Other than computer simulations, it can't be too good in reality. There is too much anger, sadness, shame, and human pain (deaths) to bear and the effects will last for generations.)
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As our storehouse of knowledge grows day by day, we seek to make sense of disparate facts; assembling pieces of information-jigsaw together, and apply them to explain the phenomenal daily life. In my opinion, if I don't put what I've learnt into practice as a student, I will not be fully utilising my available resources. In short, let me make my amateur analysis!!
Personally, I've came up with a new attitude towards life:
Life is not worth living, until you've discovered a dream worth living for.
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