Thanks to the decoding of the human genome, many believe that "we can all be proud of our species as it closes in on this summit of self-knowledge". Yet the very architects of its decoding have also warned that "the more we learn about the human genome, the more there is to explore". This text provides a history of genetics in Britain from its inception as a science in the early years of the 20th century, and seeks to examine the roots of these two paradoxical assessments of the decoding of the human genome. It explores the intersection of historiography, critical theory and science and technology studies, aiming to reaffirm the inescapable presence and necessity of the "absolute".