Re:Ask HN: Can we think of DNA as Infrastructure as Code
by macawfish on Monday November 13, 2023 @07:12AM
(#38249334)
We can if we'd like to but remember that it's an analogy, no matter how useful, inspiring or beautiful the connections might be.
I don't like this analogy too much because it collapses "DNA" into a singular thing that's somehow related to classical computing, even though there's no indication that DNA and the multiple layers of systems interacting with it are limited in the same ways as classical computers.
I prefer to think of the DNA as a medium for memory, one of many mediums for memory.
Memory is everywhere, whether or not anyone or anything remembers it.
I don't like this analogy too much because it collapses "DNA" into a singular thing that's somehow related to classical computing, even though there's no indication that DNA and the multiple layers of systems interacting with it are limited in the same ways as classical computers.
I prefer to think of the DNA as a medium for memory, one of many mediums for memory.
Memory is everywhere, whether or not anyone or anything remembers it.