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Sonntag, 26. Januar 2014

Are people as unique as snowflakes?

I came across this article in Forbes recently:

Winter Wonderland: Snowflakes Are Predictably Diverse, But Not Unique

http://www.forbes.com/sites/anthonykosner/2013/12/22/winter-wonderland-snowflakes-are-predictably-diverse-but-not-unique/

The article discusses how snowflakes are formed, but more interesting to me is the idea that

There are many variables that determine the ultimate shape of the snowflake when it hits our noses, but all of them can be modeled.

Would this hold true for humans (assuming we had the equipment to model such complexity)? It is often said that everyone has an exact twin somewhere in the world, and much of who we are is genetically passed along from parent to child. As an interculturalist, I also believe that most of our behaviors are learned from the culture(s) around us. The article goes on to say

The “unique” character comes from random events during the life of the snowflake :

Very cold air, i.e. large temperature difference between snowflake and ambient, makes needles that are sharp and fast growing, fluffy snow.
Small temperature differences (cold air just under 0 Celsius) make stubby needles, or no needles (small beads, packed snow becomes ice).
The falling flake falls like a leaf, it bumps into other flakes, breaks some needles, sticks to its neighbors, etc.
The wind during a strong snow storm damages all the flakes, in random ways due to air turbulence.

The "randomness" of events in our individual lives, then, are what make us seem unique, and this would explain why siblings with similar genes and upbringing can seem so very different.

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