06
Part I: GEBChapter 6
The Location of Meaning
Is meaning in the message or the decoder? DNA and Jukeboxes.
Where does meaning live? Is it in the DNA strand itself, or in the cell machinery that reads it? Is it in the vinyl record, or the jukebox that plays it? This chapter argues that meaning is not inherent in the message but arises from the interaction between the message and a complex 'decoder'. Without the right context (the jukebox/cell), the message (record/DNA) is just noise.
The DNA Jukebox
SOURCE CODE (DNA)
CAG-GAC-GAA-GAG
PHENOTYPE (OUTPUT)
"Music is Meaning!"
"Does the meaning reside in the DNA string, or in the decoder that interprets it? Without the ribosome, the DNA is just a chemical."