Small Differences Make a Big Difference
Did you know that humans and chimpanzees share an astounding 98.8% of their DNAs? And that random humans are 99.9% the same genetically? In the case of siblings, excluding identical twins who share 100% of their DNAs, the figure jumps to 99.95%.
You may have seen Youtube videos or read articles on how inherently interconnected and interdependent we are to one another and to the universe at large. That’s all fine and well-intentioned, but I want to take a slightly different approach.
Personally, I find the notion that we are basically the same because
we are virtually genetically indistinguishable from one another and even from other primates misleading and logically unsatisfactory. Thinking about what I have in common with a chimp as we are nearly 99% genetically similar, I see that we both like bananas. But beyond that I struggle to imagine how I could possibly connect emotionally and intellectually with a chimp.
In the case of random people, the 0.1% genetic difference contributes to vast variations in the physical, intellectual, and emotional traits. For example, two brothers who share the same parents and grow up under the same roof in the same environment could become quite different individuals with vastly different personalities. In real life a 0.1% difference in genetics could dictate whether one grows up to be a church pastor or a cold-blooded killer.
In fact, a tiny difference in anything can lead to drastically different consequences. For example, imagine being shot by someone and his bullet misses you by just half a centimeter. That half centimeter determines whether or not you get hit by his bullet. If you do get hit, a half centimeter difference in where the bullet enters your body could determine whether you will live or die. The same logic applies to the 0.1% genetic difference in random humans.
Relatively small differences in genetics give rise to huge diversities in both life forms and the individual differences within a species. It’s in these minute genetic differences that allow us to become doctors, firemen, soldiers, and so on and so forth. Could you imagine a world where everyone held the same job? It doesn’t work– the world revolves around diversity.
We should act more responsibly not so much because we are the same but because we are different, for it’s the difference that lends to the diversity on which the whole world depends.
In addition to diversity, what also make the world go round are the interconnectedness and interdependency that all living and even non-living beings share. We breathe the same air and depend on the oxygen produced by trees, grass and other plants.
While the genetic findings are all fascinating, we shouldn’t get carried away with the numbers or read too much into them. It’s the interdependency, not so much how genetically similar we are to one another or to other primates that should motivate us to become more responsible in our thoughts and acts.
We should act more responsibly not so much because we are the same but because we are different, for it’s the difference that lends to the diversity on which the whole world depends.