🧵 First, What Is a Puppet?

Have you seen a puppet?

It’s like a toy that moves only when someone pulls its strings.

So when we ask:

“Are we puppets for our genes and memes?”

We mean:

“Are we just doing what our genes and ideas tell us to do?”

Let’s explore this slowly.

 

🧬 Genes Give Instructions — Not Orders

You’ve already learned:

• Genes are tiny instruction pieces

• They live inside cells

• They help make proteins

• Proteins help make body parts

• Together, they build YOU!

But genes don’t “think.”
They don’t give commands like a boss.
They don’t even know they exist.

They just work.
They get copied when the body has a baby.
That’s it.

Still — they do affect:

• How tall you are

• Your skin and hair

• How fast your heart beats

• And even your mood or energy

 

🧠 Memes Don’t Give Orders Either

Memes are ideas that live in our brain.
They can be:

• Stories

• Songs

• Beliefs

• Behaviors

They don’t shout, “Do this now!”

But some are sticky.
They stay in your brain.
They make you want to:

• Tell someone

• Believe something

• Act a certain way

 

🤖 So… Are We Just Following?

Let’s look at a few examples:

• A gene makes you feel hungry. You eat.

• A meme says “be polite.” You say “thank you.”

• A gene makes you afraid of snakes. You stay away.

• A meme says “don’t waste food.” You finish your plate.

In all these examples…

Your gene or meme seems to “pull the string.”

But you are not a puppet.
You are something more.

 

🧠 Humans Have Brains That Can Think

Here’s something amazing:

• Our brains are very big for our body size

• We can remember, imagine, solve problems, and ask questions

This means:

You can say “no” to a feeling.
You can question a belief.
You can change your behavior.

Genes and memes can influence you.
But you can still decide what to do.

 

🧘 Example: Fighting a Feeling

Let’s say a gene makes you want to eat sugar all the time.
But you know too much sugar isn’t healthy.

You can choose to:

• Eat a little

• Eat something else

• Wait until later

This shows:
✅ The gene gave a feeling
✅ But YOU made a choice

 

🧠 Example: Breaking a Meme

Let’s say there’s a meme in your group:

“It’s cool to be mean.”

But you feel that being mean hurts others.
So you decide to be kind instead.

You just said “no” to a meme.
You made your own choice.

 

🎭 You Are More Than Just a Gene-Carrier

Your body carries genes, yes.
Your brain holds memes, yes.

But you are not a simple box carrying stuff.

You are:

• A thinker

• A chooser

• A person who can say yes or no

• Someone who can imagine and learn

That’s something genes and memes can’t do.

Only you can.

 

🧗 Can We Ever Escape Genes and Memes?

Not fully.

You’ll always:

• Have genes

• Live with memes all around you

But…

You can:

• Pick which memes to believe

• Use your knowledge of genes to stay healthy

• Change old habits

• Create new ideas and pass them on

That’s a kind of freedom.
Not perfect freedom — but real.

 

💡 Some People Call This “Rising Above”

Even if your genes say “run from danger”…
You might stay and help.

Even if a meme says “only care about yourself”…
You might choose kindness.

That’s not something you have to do.
That’s something you choose to do.

And that choice shows:

You are not just a puppet.
You are a person with a mind.

 

🧠 Are Animals Just Puppets?

Animals follow more of their genes.
They do what they were built to do.

• Birds build nests

• Spiders spin webs

• Lions hunt

They have little choice.
They don’t ask, “Why?”

But you — you can wonder.
You can ask, “Is this right?”
You can say, “Let’s try something better.”

That’s a HUGE difference.

 

🤔 Why Does This Matter?

Because:

• You can shape your future

• You can help others

• You can build things

• You can change your mind

• You can make the world better

If you were only a puppet, none of that would be possible.

But you can choose — and that’s powerful.

 

💬 What About Free Will?

“Free will” means the power to choose.
Do we really have it?

Some say:

“Everything you do is from genes and memes.”

Others say:

“You can think above it — and choose.”

We may never know the full answer.
But this we do know:

You have a brain.
You can stop and think.
You can ask questions.
You can make choices.

And those things matter — a lot.

 

🌟 Recap

✅ Genes give feelings, not commands
✅ Memes give ideas, not orders
✅ You can think and choose
✅ You are more than just a body carrying DNA
✅ You can break bad memes and stop bad habits
✅ That’s not being a puppet — that’s being a person