I agree that your DNA is a big integer , but I don't agree that you're just a number. A number alone is meaningless. The data contained in an MP3 or JPEG alone is meaningless without an interpreter that converts that data to a song or an image. Similarly, the data of your DNA is meaningless without an interpreter that converts that data into a human being.
So we're not just the data in our DNA. We are both our DNA data and the biological processes required to read that data, parse the information, and construct every part of ourselves (hat tip to mom for the initial power supply).
I think it's a valuable introspection to consider that the data set used to build each of us is representable by an integer, but we should not fall into the trap of believe that that is all we are.
So we're not just the data in our DNA. We are both our DNA data and the biological processes required to read that data, parse the information, and construct every part of ourselves (hat tip to mom for the initial power supply).
I think it's a valuable introspection to consider that the data set used to build each of us is representable by an integer, but we should not fall into the trap of believe that that is all we are.