They say no two snowflakes are alike.

I’d argue that there are no two people alike either. That while there may be many similarities between two people, no two people on this earth have the exact same similar life experiences, personalities, upbringing, brains, reasoning, thoughts or emotions.

Not exactly an earth shattering revelation, now is it?

Except that, until this week, we had long thought that identical twins were genetically identical. Not so, according to new research this week, which showed that due to copy number variations, genetically identical twins are not so much.

So now that that long held conventional wisdom has been blown away, we have some revisiting to do. Because researchers for decades have designed studies which looked at whether something was more influenced by genetics or the environment by using identical twins, assuming they were genetically identical (thereby either implicating or ruling out genetics as the stronger influence in the behavior or condition being studied).

Which brings me back to the snowflakes.

We are a society rushing around at light speed to differentiate ourselves in this life, to be better people, to succeed and make our marks in the world. To not be that failure to our moms, our dads, our friends, our lovers, and ourselves. All the while neglecting the one truth that shines through — each and every one of us is unique, like the snowflake. That even when we’re told we’re nothing special, we are. We are very special, and while the world doesn’t revolve around us, it revolves to offer us whatever opportunity we choose to make from it.

So we should appreciate the uniqueness of our life very much like we reflect on the simple beauty and singularity of a snowflake — one at a time.

Dr. John Grohol is the CEO and founder of Psych Central. He is an author, researcher and expert in mental health online, and has been writing about online behavior, mental health and psychology issues -- as well as the intersection of technology and human behavior -- since 1992. Dr. Grohol sits on the editorial board of the journal Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking and is a founding board member and treasurer of the Society for Participatory Medicine.

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    Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 22 Feb 2008
    Published on PsychCentral.com. All rights reserved.