I can speak geek in two languages

Published 21 Mar 2005

I just picked up the book this weekend, and I found myself trying to explain to my husband why I pretty much wanted to curl up with it and read all weekend. Is has been pouring, as it does during winter in the temperate rainforest, and coffee and a good book seem like the ideal way to pass the time. Plus, this book lets me hold on the SXSW vibe a bit longer (“I met him, and got a couple of big smiles” and “I absolutely heart him, what a sweet guy”).

Anyway, I started explaining to him what the CSS Zen Garden is and its significance to web design. He was having trouble understanding the relationship between the HTML and CSS in the project, so I actually had this converstation:

“The HTML is like the DNA— it is static, the same for every design. The CSS is like the regulator genes; changing CSS rules affects the phenotypic expression of the HTML.”

“Oh, now I get it!”

An example for those of you reading who aren’t biology geeks:

The difference (genetically) between male and female humans is that females have two X chromosomes, and males have one X and one Y chromosome. Two people can have the exact same DNA throughout their entire genome (unlikely, but possible) except for one having two X chromosomes and one have one of the same X chromosomes plus a Y chromosome. These two people will look completely different, be different genders, and potentially have completely different medical histories, all because of what’s on the Y chromosome.

The cool part is that all that’s on the Y chromosome is regulator genes— genes that turn on and off the expression of DNA that’s already present in the rest of the genome. In this case, the regulator genes affect the DNA that codes for physical traits, sexual organs, hormonal levels, etc. And you end up getting something that functions like a male instead of a female.

So basically, the Y chromosome overrides the default styles of the X chromosome, and you end up with a 3 column fixed layout with pixel fonts instead of a two column liquid layout with more organic typography.

Or something like that.

Filed under Miscellaneous, Web Design