Can you inherit memories from your ancestors?

Skepticism about “inherited memories” framing

• Many commenters say the article’s claim that “lived experience and acquired knowledge” are inherited is misleading or “nonsense.”
• Key objection: epigenetic changes can bias gene expression and behavior, but that is not the same as inheriting explicit memories or experiences.
• Several argue the piece blurs “epigenetic memory” (a technical term for stable molecular marks) with everyday psychological memory, inviting misinterpretation and clickbait.
• Some see parallels to the discredited recovered‑memory movement and to popular books about “the body keeping the score.”

What epigenetics is (and isn’t)

• Posters with biology backgrounds describe epigenetics as biochemical marks (e.g., DNA methylation, histone modifications) that regulate gene expression and can persist across cell divisions, sometimes across generations.
• They stress that these marks tune existing genes up or down rather than encoding new, decodable “information” about events.
• There is debate over how long such marks persist across generations and how strong the effects are; much is described as still unknown.

Mouse olfactory shock study

• The main cited study conditions mice to fear a smell paired with shock; descendants show heightened sensitivity/fear to that smell.
• The study reports hypomethylation of a specific olfactory receptor gene in sperm and offspring.
• Skeptics note:
  • It’s a decade old, not heavily replicated, and methods are thin on some details.
  • It shows a heritable sensory/behavioral bias, not rich “memories.”
• Supporters counter that it is valid evidence of intergenerational epigenetic influence, even if the article overstates implications.

Instinct vs memory

• Several distinguish instinctive behaviors (fixed action patterns, innate wiring, predispositions) from memory formed by individual experience.
• Examples discussed: spiders weaving species‑specific webs, innate fears (snakes/spiders), grasp reflex in infants.
• Consensus in the thread: instincts and predispositions are plausibly shaped by genetics/epigenetics; calling them “memories” is misleading.

Intergenerational trauma and politics

• Some link the article’s framing to popular notions of “inherited trauma” and political narratives (both left and right) about ancestral suffering or immutable cultural traits.
• Others insist most inequality is explained by inherited wealth, social structures, and upbringing, not biological “trauma memory.”
• A few cite studies on famine or Holocaust descendants as suggestive of epigenetic effects, while critics emphasize small, homogeneous cohorts, retrospective designs, and over‑interpretation.

Overall tone

• Strong skepticism toward the article’s rhetorical leap from epigenetic modulation to inheritable “memories.”
• Moderate openness that epigenetic inheritance of some stress‑ or environment‑linked traits is real, but mechanisms, scope, and relevance in humans remain uncertain.