Talk:DNA/Archive 7

message: ===Genetic Code of Life, a Metaphor===
I have replaced the first paragraph with: 
*Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is a nucleic acid which carries "instructions" necessary for the biological development of some viruses and all cellular organisms; it is thus sometimes said to metaphorically represent the "genetic code of life". Since DNA is inherited and used to propagate traits, this macromolecule is known as the "molecule of heredity"; during reproduction, DNA is replicated and transmitted to offspring.  
** Lirath Q. Pynnor
:Thankyou for all your help, Lir.  While we await the forthcoming revert, maybe you can write some text for the section entitled, "More on DNA replication". Stewart Adcock 00:23, 14 Feb 2004 (UTC)
replies: text: I haven't been participating much with this endless debate until now, but I can see at least one good reason not to call it the "genetic code of life" in the intro paragraph; it's wrong, or at least very misleading. DNA is a chemical that can and often does serve as the medium in which genetic information is encoded, but it is not itself a code any more than a sheet of paper and a bottle of ink is a language. This distinction may be worth discussing further in a later section of the article, but the intro paragraph should avoid ambiguities and complications like this as much as possible IMO. Bryan 00:38, 14 Feb 2004 (UTC)
replies: text:  having written my new article, I am back here again. Byran, you are complete right, but we have told Lir this many many times. I for one have given up repeating that fact. Stewart Adcock 02:19, 14 Feb 2004 (UTC)

text: This is why I suggested that it could be valuable to discuss the term later on in the article. However, the fact that it is a commonly used phrasing doesn't mean it's a correct phrasing. An encyclopedia should try to explain what DNA is, and calling it "the genetic code of life" right off the bat like that can give the reader a misconception that may interfere with understanding. There are plenty of other articles about subjects where the popular conception is wrong, and it's entirely appropriate for Wikipedia to point that out. As for your compromise, from what I can see in the vast history of this talk: page the current version is already the compromise that seems most widely accepted by the editors here. Bryan 01:00, 14 Feb 2004 (UTC)
replies: text: We agree again Stewart Adcock 02:19, 14 Feb 2004 (UTC)
thread_title: Old Discussion

message: I have replaced the first paragraph with: 
*Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is a nucleic acid which carries "instructions" necessary for the biological development of some viruses and all cellular organisms; it is thus sometimes said to metaphorically represent the "genetic code of life". Since DNA is inherited and used to propagate traits, this macromolecule is known as the "molecule of heredity"; during reproduction, DNA is replicated and transmitted to offspring.  
** Lirath Q. Pynnor
:Thankyou for all your help, Lir.  While we await the forthcoming revert, maybe you can write some text for the section entitled, "More on DNA replication". Stewart Adcock 00:23, 14 Feb 2004 (UTC)
replies: text: I haven't been participating much with this endless debate until now, but I can see at least one good reason not to call it the "genetic code of life" in the intro paragraph; it's wrong, or at least very misleading. DNA is a chemical that can and often does serve as the medium in which genetic information is encoded, but it is not itself a code any more than a sheet of paper and a bottle of ink is a language. This distinction may be worth discussing further in a later section of the article, but the intro paragraph should avoid ambiguities and complications like this as much as possible IMO. Bryan 00:38, 14 Feb 2004 (UTC)
replies: text:  having written my new article, I am back here again. Byran, you are complete right, but we have told Lir this many many times. I for one have given up repeating that fact. Stewart Adcock 02:19, 14 Feb 2004 (UTC)

text: This is why I suggested that it could be valuable to discuss the term later on in the article. However, the fact that it is a commonly used phrasing doesn't mean it's a correct phrasing. An encyclopedia should try to explain what DNA is, and calling it "the genetic code of life" right off the bat like that can give the reader a misconception that may interfere with understanding. There are plenty of other articles about subjects where the popular conception is wrong, and it's entirely appropriate for Wikipedia to point that out. As for your compromise, from what I can see in the vast history of this talk: page the current version is already the compromise that seems most widely accepted by the editors here. Bryan 01:00, 14 Feb 2004 (UTC)
replies: text: We agree again Stewart Adcock 02:19, 14 Feb 2004 (UTC)
thread_title: Genetic Code of Life, a Metaphor