One often encounters the idea that there is something special about genetic information, that it is somehow different from, or more important than other health related information we can get about ourselves or other persons. There are conferences and research projects dealing with genetic information that implicitly reaffirm this idea, and it is also prevalent in the public debate where genetic tests are generally viewed with a mixture of awe and suspicion. But is there really something special about genetic information, or are we just mislead by the fact that genetics is the latest in a long range of scientific fields which have at different times captured public attention?