Mirror, mirror on the wall…

How much of our personality is truly predetermined by our DNA? It seems like it’s only a small portion, since most of it is formed by the environment we grew up in. A big part of that environment would be your parents raising you, your siblings, friends, teachers, you name it. Their combined traits, ethics and knowledge will be projected on you and your personality will be formed by a mix of whatever you’ve recorded.

This might not be a big eye-opener, but in this perception you could say that we are all mirrors simply imitating what we’ve seen or heard throughout our life. So could it be that we are all the same, or at least were at some point?

Let’s imagine a world where only you and a hundred of your clones would live. Initially everyone would be exactly the same (not counting those of you who have multiple personalities). But how long would it take before this changes? Days, hours, seconds? Either way, it would only be a matter of time before you start liking and disliking some of those clones more than others.

There would be so many variables affecting them that at some point some would start to flourish through some of their traits, while others start to fail through other traits. Though at one point everyone was an exact copy of each other, through time, cause and effect some of these traits got magnified and some diminished. Some new traits may have been picked up along the way, while others might have been dropped completely.

The next generation of clones would be raised in a completely different environment that we initially started in. Each clone would have a different upbringing and would form different traits and ethics of its own.

If we would apply this example to the real world, we can’t deny that at some point there were only a handful of self-conscious organisms that eventually formed the seven billion people in this world today. This leads me to conclude that everyone you know comes at some point from the same bloodline.

Now imagine that you alone could live forever. If you’ll have children it’s likely that you’ll love them unconditionally. Your children might have children as well and with them being your grandchildren, you’ll probably love them unconditionally as well. But what about their children or their children’s children. I’d imagine that the love for your offsprings would not  change, though if they start to multiply, eventually you wouldn’t have time to form a decent relationship with all of them.

So what’s my conclusion? In the end we’re all connected and at one point in history were very much alike. Some have been less fortunate than others and this will likely keep changing in the future. If you were hoping for a great punch line I’m afraid I have to dissapoint you. Though it is something to think about, as is the way we treat each other. It’s clear that you cannot choose the environment you grow up in and by the time you do, your personality will already be formed. You’ve either gotten lucky or you have not.