While this analogy is most likely not understood by people who don&#x27;t understand gene expression, I still like it.<p>I think of genes as the initial configuration in Conway&#x27;s game of life. Small initial (genetic) variations can cause large differences after some generations. Some don&#x27;t matter at all and just die out. But no matter what is the end result, it&#x27;s not a blue print or a description, it just _is_, and the result flows from it using some basic rules.