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Quotes from Genome — Matt Ridley

born 1958 England

← All quotes by Matt Ridley

41 quotes

Almost everything in the body, from hair to hormones, is either made of proteins or made by them.

Genome (1999)

The main purpose of most genes in the human genome is regulating the expression of other genes in the genome.

Genome (1999)

That life is chemistry is true but boring, like saying that football is physics.

Genome (1999)

Life consists of the interplay of two kinds of chemicals: proteins and DNA.

Genome (1999)

Human beings accumulate about one hundred mutations per generation.

Genome (1999)

Life is a slippery thing to define, but it consists of two very different skills: the ability to replicate, and the ability to create order.

Genome (1999)

A true scientist is bored by knowledge; it is the assault on ignorance that motivates him—the mysteries that previous discoveries have revealed.

Genome (1999)

Determinism looks backwards to the causes of the present state, not forward to the consequences.

Genome (1999)

No study of the causes of intelligence has failed to find a substantial heritability.

Genome (1999)

It underscores yet again the fact that what we call personality is to a considerable degree a question of brain chemistry.

Genome (1999)

Genes are recipes for both anatomy and behaviour.

Genome (1999)

All rules have exceptions (including this one).

Genome (1999)

In egalitarian societies, genes matter more.

Genome (1999)

These two processes—linguistic philology and genetic phylogeny—are converging upon a common theme: the history of human migrations.

Genome (1999)

I think knowledge is a blessing, not a curse. This is especially true in the case of genetic knowledge.

Genome (1999)

Yet the myth persists that genetic determinism is a more implacable kind of fate than social determinism.

Genome (1999)

Nobody doubts that genes can shape anatomy. The idea that they also shape behaviour takes a lot more swallowing.

Genome (1999)

The pope notwithstanding, the human species is by no means the pinnacle of evolution. Evolution has no pinnacle and there is no such thing as evolutionary progress.

Genome (1999)

If you still thought evolution was about the good of the species, stop thinking so right now.

Genome (1999)

This interaction of genetic and external influences makes my behaviour unpredictable, but not undetermined.

Genome (1999)

Attribution

Quotes and notes from Wikiquote: Matt Ridley (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0.