On: Police Are Using DNA to Generate 3D Images of Suspects They've Never Seen

[rolph]

DNA is only a blueprint, it exists along with epigenetic footnotes, and a noisy variation tolerant production process. add exosomatic contributions, during the course of development [ones lifetime] and you have a thing called phenotypic plasticity. this means multiple variations occur when using the same code but different system configurations.

This isnt quite like phrenology, but the mentation seems approximate.

[yarg → rolph]

> This isnt quite like phrenology, but the mentation seems approximate.

Really? Phrenology was utter bullshit - a methodology based on genetics can answer some questions correctly, and others within statistical bounds.

Incorporating understanding of epigenetics would improve the model, but the failure to do so does not invalidate the model completely.

As far as morphology is concerned, sex hormone levels are probably a significantly more important unconsidered factor.

[giraffe_lady → yarg]

> a methodology based on genetics can answer some questions correctly

Sure, but can this? Just because the underlying mechanisms have validity doesn't mean any specific practical application does.

[atoav → rolph]

Putting people into the locker based on the shape of their head? Bad vibes.