I am and DNA is

While reflecting on the DNA-research it came to me that there is a similarity in the vagueness of the knowledge about the own 'I' and the knowledge about the own DNA – but also a big difference.

We can feel very clearly that we are 'I' - but the more we look at the own 'I', the more it seems to drift away. It is like mercury. If you have a little pool of mercury - it is the only metal that is fluid at room-temperature - you will see that it has the tendency to form drops. It doesn't stick together, but falls apart in drops. When you try to put it away it drifts, as if it were alive. It is very difficult to 'catch' mercury. The 'I' seems mercurial; it tries to escape whenever you search for it.

DNA is also intangible. Science assures us that it exists, and of course we believe science... But although it seems to be the most inner aspect of our own body, we can't perceive it ourselves. It is said to be in the core of the cells, in the chromosomes, as a giant-molecule with an unique structure - as unique as the 'I' is unique. But we can't watch it; we need a huge scientific system to perceive it. Neither the scientist can watch the DNA with his naked eye; he needs his chemical reactions, an electron microscope that can enlarge more than a million times, so that the molecular structures can be made visible, and computer programs that can think these complexities for us, and so on.

Nevertheless, this 'visibility' is not the same as the visibility with the eye.  There is of course a great chance of artifacts of all sorts, and also of false interpretations.  The truths are always 'statistic', never complete.

But my point here is to realize that we can't judge ourselves on our own DNA pattern, it lies in a deeply hidden area, we can't become aware of it - and still it is said to be the most important 'blueprint' of our body and mind.

When I study these subjects, I feel like a blind person who learns by heart where to go in the streets of a city like Hong Kong. Suppose I want to visit the city and am taught how to get from the one end to the other end of the city - without being able to see where I am.  I have the plan of the city in my mind and in my Tom-tom, but I have nothing to assure myself that I did it right, that I found my way. I start in a place that I can't see, and get to a place I can't see - but techniques guide me perfectly, I can trust them.  However ... I can't be sure, for I can't verify it.

The 'I' however is something that I feel for sure, it is 'with me' all the time, it is my hold, and I can never lose it, as long as I am alive and awake. I don't know the exact pattern of it, I don't know it myself and I can't turn to science and ask for it. It is a vague entity, but the most sure thing is, I possess it, it possesses me, I am I. I can never be lonely, for it is always me... I seem to be blind for the details, but I don't need any instrument to perceive it, it is as near as something can be.

How does science investigate the DNA?
How can I investigate me?


First foto of DNA (2012!), 'seen' through an electron microscope.I am and DNA is by Mieke Mosmuller