Of course "cells are computers and genes are their code" is an oversimplification, but it's not a terrible analogy. It seems to fail the worst if either
- you stretch the analogy too far, as is the case with all analogies, or
- you don't understand much about computers or code.
A given set of code can produce different results when compiled by different compilers, or on a different computer, or for a different computer, and a given executable can produce different results depending on whether or not libraries or peripherals are available, etc.
No one will ever be able to make a one-sentence analogy that will satisfy every scientist, but in spite of that many analogies are incredibly useful. If someone doesn't like the "cells are computers and genes are their code" analogy, I'm all ears for a better one.
- you stretch the analogy too far, as is the case with all analogies, or
- you don't understand much about computers or code.
A given set of code can produce different results when compiled by different compilers, or on a different computer, or for a different computer, and a given executable can produce different results depending on whether or not libraries or peripherals are available, etc.
No one will ever be able to make a one-sentence analogy that will satisfy every scientist, but in spite of that many analogies are incredibly useful. If someone doesn't like the "cells are computers and genes are their code" analogy, I'm all ears for a better one.