Still working on an
Students become like their advisors.
In academic style, in mannerism, or maybe just their irrational passion for raquetball.
Why is this?
Sincere form of flattery?
Memetic transmission?
Or, something more insidious...
I have before noted that the descendancy of graduate students from their advisors, and lo their advisors before them, is one of the few good examples of Lamarckian evolution
It is an amusing conceit.
The students, maybe subconsciously, adapting their advisors mannerisms, style, approach to science etc.
But, as this came up over coffee in snowy Ohio, a very clever friend of mine wondered if maybe there was more to it than that.
See we know now that there is much more to transmission of heritable information than the old paired DNA gene on the chromosome - not only are the genes segmented and interlinked and free to make use of chunks of each other, the whole meta level of expression and regulation is done at yet another level, through, for example, short bits of RNA running interference on gene expression.
Short bits of RNA are insidious - some, undoubtedly, are expression of what was thought to be junk DNA in the genome. Others may be transmitted in germ plasm, naked bits of mutated viruses co-opted to play a regulatory role.
But, what if some are still transmissable?!
Not through a germ line but by contact!!!
What if the advisors are infecting their advisees with bits of RNA, which is infiltrating their cellular nuclei and re-regulating gene expression!
It is not sheer force of personality, or superior memes that lead to the evolution of the advisees, it is parasitic infection of junk RNA that is reregulating their gene expression!
Aaarrrrggghhhhhhh!!!!!!
Hey, that'd be kinda cool, eh?
Oh no.
Could transmission go both ways?
What if a student has more adaptive infective iRNA bits than mine...?
Education & Careers
Comments
All evolution is darwinian even if some inheritance is lamarckian. But I think that the latter depends solely on what one sets up as the "individual" in the evolutionary process concerned. You are only inheriting your advisor's traits in a "lamarckian" sense if you conflate the biological organism with the sociocultural actor. Since these do not need to be identical, by definition (cultural evolution is distinct from and often decoupled from biology), it is not lamarckian inheritance to learn by imitation since the cultural actor (graduate student/professional scientist) is distinct from the biological organism. In fact, you can serially instantiate several cultural agents, or simultaneously be many cultural agents (lab researcher, political activist, guitar player).
This is a common but misleading category error.
Posted by: John S. Wilkins | November 19, 2008 12:24 AM
Well, *I* thought it was funny.
Posted by: Vagueofgodalming | November 19, 2008 5:06 AM
I would be suprised if any people living in somewhat frequently contact never had trasmission of microorganisms that influence behavior (toxoplasma anyone?).
The non-coding RNA is just trendier.
Posted by: becca | November 19, 2008 9:17 AM
Woah! That sounds like a crazy notion, and I've never heard anything like what you are suggesting anywhere before. I would very much appreciate it if you could provide more links to support your claim, but other than that, you and your friend keep working and brainstorming on this topic!
Posted by: Maria M | November 19, 2008 9:24 AM
Get yer damn RNA out of my brain. This may explain why I like Skyr and occasionally wear black.
Posted by: JohnD | November 19, 2008 10:12 AM
Bwahahahahahahah!
If you start listening to Billy Bragg and the Clash and developing appreciation for the intricacies of team handball, then you will know that MY iRNA has won the battle for your corticial neuron gene expressors.
Your colourful mellow friends can't save you now...
Bwahahahahahahahah!
Here is the definitive authoritative supporting link!
From a top expert in the field. Top expert.
Posted by: Steinn Sigurdsson | November 19, 2008 10:23 AM
This is why I take Michigan-football-inhibitor drugs.
Posted by: Colin | November 19, 2008 2:27 PM
Of course we become our advisers....how else can you hope to get that Ph.D.? If we don't walk the walk, talk the talk, and agree with everything they say...well back to the factory.
Posted by: Michael | November 20, 2008 9:58 AM
come on - mutations are allowed, just if there are too many the odds of them being maladaptive become high and the lineage branch terminates...
Posted by: Steinn Sigurdsson | November 20, 2008 12:22 PM
You can't claim Billy Bragg on me--I listened to "Sexuality" on a mix tape in 1992! So hah!
But I have to say, that Veteran's day mashup with Bragg was really moving weirdly...
Posted by: JohnD | November 20, 2008 2:05 PM
Yeah, but, that's like the trendy poppy Billy - after he became popular.
Now, show true appreciation for "To Have and To Have Not" or "A13 (Trunk Road to the Sea) ", or even "New England" (Kirsty McColl version is good but doesn't count), and then we're talking.
Bonus: it immunizes you to the Dave Matthews Band.
Or you can replace it with appreciation of any of: The Bodysnatchers, Bubbi or Joy Division.
Posted by: Steinn Sigurdsson | November 20, 2008 2:27 PM
So, exactly what kind of relationship did you have with Sterl?
Posted by: Sam | November 20, 2008 9:10 PM
"hands-off" - it is an adaptive trait
Anyway: Let He or She Who Is Without An Advisor Cast The First Aspersion!
Posted by: Steinn Sigurdsson | November 21, 2008 1:38 PM