# Human Genome Project > > The Human Genome Project (HGP) sought to map and sequence the haploid human genome's 22 autosomes and 2 sex chromosomes, bringing to biology a "big science" model previously confined to physics. Officially launched in October 1990, the project’s official date of completion was timed to coincide with celebrations of the 50th anniversary of James D. Watson and Francis Crick's discovery of the double-helical structure of DNA. --https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/human-genome/ > The Human Genome Project (HGP) sought to map and sequence the haploid human genome's 22 autosomes and 2 sex chromosomes, bringing to biology a "big science" model previously confined to . Officially launched in October 1990, the project's official date of completion was timed to coincide with celebrations of the 50th anniversary of and 's discovery of the double-helical structure of . --https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/human-genome/ ## Steven Pinker's opinion The fact that the number of human genes discovered by HGP (34,000) is lower than the previous estimate (50,000-100,000) cannot be grounds for supporting the [Blank slate](https://wiki.g15e.com/pages/Blank%20slate.txt) theory: > In the current state of ignorance about how build the [brain](https://wiki.g15e.com/en/pages/Brain.txt), the number of genes in the is just a number. --p146-147, [The blank slate](https://wiki.g15e.com/en/pages/The%20blank%20slate.txt) ## See also -