Molecular Inference of Wisdom
This chapter was based on a lecture delivered by Dr. Sharrer at the Molecular Frontiers Symposium and Youth Forum in the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in May 2014.
Wisdom is a human trait upon which natural selection creates evolutionary pathways from the molecular biology of the gene, to the cellular organization of nervous system, to the physical functioning of the brain — and the transit is a two way street. Wellness is a selection advantage at every level. Molecular wellness is innate, though often compromised because selection is blind; intellectual or high level wellness is learned behavior fed back to the molecular level as a kind of vision. The wisdom of this is that lifelong wellness — to the point of dying healthy — is a goal for every person and every society because it precedes and influences all other achievements.