Reichu wrote:FYI, the CI basically states that the Super Solenoid has the same shape as DNA.
That's a conclusion that I'd arrived at sort of intuitively ages ago, and one that has informed my thinking on the topic of Fruit of Life vs Fruit of Wisdom all along. Still, it is gratifying to see once again my intuition proven correct
I'm surprised, Reichu, that you don't seem to have caught on to the visual/thematic parallelism that is set up here. Look at is this way: DNA is real, and we all know that its form is a double helix, but the S^2 engine/organ is fictional, something that Anno invented for the world of NGE. He could have assigned any shape or structure he wanted to the 'engine of immortality' that the Angels possess, but he chose to give it the same shape as DNA. That's what I was getting at when I said "Coincidence? I think not..." above. He obviously intended to link DNA and the S^2, so that we (the geek faction of the show's audience) would think about them (i.e. 'contrast and compare') together.
The formulation "DNA = Fruit of Wisdom" that I offered before is too 'bare bones' and imprecise, so I suppose it's not surprising that you all were perplexed by it. So allow me to put it another way: DNA is to 'Fruit of Wisdom' as S^2 Engine is to 'Fruit of Life'. That is to say, DNA is the concrete, real-world biological manifestation of the metaphorical concept labeled 'Fruit of Wisdom', just as S^2 Engine is the concrete, real-word (well, real NGE world, anyway) biological manifestation of the metaphorical concept labeled 'Fruit of Life'.
What, in terms of the "big picture" of life on earth, is the role of DNA? It is a vehicle for the transmission and accumulation, over time and generations of individal organisms, of information[/u]. It allows, thru the process of natual selection, for species to evolve and become more complex (and, it would seem that in NGE, there is an element of "evolutionary pre-destination" at work, since the end point of the process is reached when the Lilim evolve into mammalian/primate/hominid versions of the FAR human template). Eventually species arise that are complex enough to achieve sentience and language, and then another kind of information comes into play: extra-genetic information, i.e. culture. In more primitive times, culture was primarily practical in nature, concerned with survival skills such which berries were good to eat, and how create stone tools and fire, etc. As human society gained more ability to control our environment (agriculture, villages and cities, etc), other aspects of culture arose, such as art, music, and religion. But in NGE, we're primarily concerned with "practical culture", which in modern times goes by the name "Science"
So, what is the power or gift of the Lilim? The Apostles are vastly more powerful than any individual puny human. They basically bypass all that evolution stuff, and are born at the apex of existence, immortal and god-like. And yet, as we're told in the RCB:[Fruit of Wisdom (CHIE NO MI)]
That possessed by humans. The product of this wisdom appears to be "Science", which is praised by Gendou as "the power of man,"[/u] but ridiculed by Fuyutsuki as "the cause of Second Impact". If so then Eva and the Instrumentality Project are also the products of this wisdom...
Science is our Equalizer; it is what allows us puny humans to fight, and defeat, the Angels. But Science is a form of knowledge, and knowledge is a form of information. DNA is the vehicle of information at the biological level, and science is the most significant manifestation of it at the societal, or cultural level. As a species, our abilty to accumulate knowledge, wisdom, and information is our ultimate force multiplier. An individual human isn't much compared to an Angel, but the billions of individuals that make up humanity as a whole = the 18th Angel, the most fearsome one of all.
Originally posted on: 14-Apr-2006, 14:15 GMT