meteorman | (no subject)

[See, unlike Jean, Armin doesn't get his prefix choice corrected. That's because Armin is Special. That's also why his answer isn't a hard no.]

I don't see why not.

[Don't play favourites with the children, Ford, but also don't stop.]

This might be a bit out of nowhere, but... when is your birthday?

[He'll play favorites if he wants to, hush up. Though Armin's right, that is a bit out of nowhere.]

Oh! It's the fifteenth of June. Not too long from now, actually, going by this world's calendar. Let me tell you it is very difficult to keep track of birthdays when many of the worlds you visit have radically different methods of keeping time.

The fifteenth of June.

[That is murmured softly as Armin commits it to mind --he'll write it down in his journal later-- before he turns his attention to the other thing Ford said.]

How did you manage? I've been trying to keep track of what date it would be back home, assuming as much time would've passed there, but I have to admit, it's starting to get harder to calculate.

Ah, well. After a while I just stopped keeping too close an eye on it. Not that I couldn't have kept a pretty accurate calculation running if I wanted to, but I had more important things to be worried about. Time often does not run the same from universe to universe; I've found it's best to attempt to adapt.

That might be true.

When we first arrived here, my birthday came far too quick. I couldn't celebrate it because it felt wrong somehow. But I think the next time it rolls around, I will simply go ahead with it. Even if there is a small discrepancy, I don't think anyone else is really keeping track.

[Just, you know, just him. He keeps track. He keeps such track.]

Time is all relative anyway, and birthdays merely symbolic of a particular concept of its passage.

[Don't give the kid a fucking existential crisis, Ford.]

What I mean is, fudging it by a couple of months won't make too much difference in the long run.

[That's right. When Armin is an old man (like Ford), nobody is going to care about those few fudged months.]

That's true.

Then, do you mind if I ask you something else too? Not related to birthdays.

Of course not. Fire away, kid.

[That's no guarantee that he won't deflect real hard if it edges up against something he doesn't want to talk about, but he has no reason to suspect it might.]

[Nothing private here.]

What are genes?

[Not the pants kind of the kind with a shifty face that turns out to be a good friend nevertheless. He's talking about real proper DNA stuff here.]

[Oh, good, a question he can answer!]

In broad terms, genes are what make you you. Your unique genetic code is the blueprint to your body: it's what causes you to have blond hair or, heh, six fingers. It's a string of nucleic acid molecules found in -- are you familiar with cells?

[Oh boy. They might have to back up a little here.]

Like... plant cells?

I saw a few illustrations of them in one of the books I read back home.

[Of course, Armin's understanding of cells is very basic, very historical from Ford's perspective and with more than a few wrong assumptions. And it is not like he's actually ever been able to see a cell. That would require a microscope, but those sort of expensive things are certainly not available to low-ranking soldiers. He'd have to live in Sina for access to that sort of wealth.

But. A boy can dream, right?]

[A boy can absolutely dream. Ford would like to encourage this, where he can.]

Yes! Animals have cells as well; their structure is a little different but that's not terribly important to the matter at hand. What is important is that each of the cells that make up your body contains a copy of your genes. The human body is highly-specialized and contains hundreds of different kinds of cells that each serve a unique purpose, so you can think of your genes as the instruction manual. It's actually a very simple code that your cells read and interpret.

So everything you are is decided by your genes? Every single thing?

Not necessarily; your genes govern how your body works mechanically, but there is some debate once you begin to look at behavior. Are you familiar with the concept of Nature versus Nurture?

No. I suppose I could make some rough guesses but...

[Maybe it is better if Ford just explains it all. Just to make sure Armin wouldn't be building on some misconceptions.]

It's a fairly complicated subject, but opinions tend to fall more or less into two schools of thought: some people believe that behavior and personality are inherent and decided from birth, and some people believe that humans start as a blank slate and are taught behavior by those around them.

I personally fall into the latter camp. I am a twin. My brother and I are perfectly genetically identical, and yet our personalities could not be more different. If a single case can disprove your theory then it isn't incredibly sound.

[Sure, they have similarities -- they were raised in the same time period, by the same parents. But there are fundamental differences in Ford's opinion.]

I don't know if I really know enough about the subject to comment on it, but the idea that personality is inherent and inborn seems rather... disconcerting.

[Armin is so not about anything deciding his fate, not even his own genes. But really, would that mean you'd never be able to change? Always stuck to a certain mould, unable to learn from your experiences and grow beyond that?]

It seems to me that... believing people are inherently anything is just an attempt at simplifying the world for one's own comfort.

Edited 2017-06-05 01:46 (UTC)