5 ms·
“ First, it seems improbable that in the narrow area of expert performance we find that practice dominates, whereas in everything else, we find that genetic fac
by koeng 5y ago
“ First, it seems improbable that in the narrow area of expert performance we find that practice dominates, whereas in everything else, we find that genetic factors have an equally large (if not greater) effect on outcomes. (This latter bit — that genes matter in determining IQ, mental health, personality traits, aptitude, and others — is so well replicated so as to not be in serious dispute any longer.”
Now that’s a pretty huge claim, and I don’t think that linking Guardian articles backs up that claim as scientific consensus.
Neurons + culture (aka, practice) are essentially the biological solution to DNA being too slow. It’s not “improbable” that practice dominates here, in fact, I’d say that our genetics specifically evolved for practice to be more important there.
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- vkk8 5y agoI've had similar thoughts on this. In sports, most people accept that genetics plays a huge role (if you want to play in the NBA, having tall genes certainly helps a lot). Why wouldn't they also matter for intellectual pursuits? If the effect of genes is something we can easily see with our own eyes - arm length, bone width, etc. - we have no difficulty accepting it, but if we can't see it - certain type of brain structure, certain hormone profile that favours some activites over others, etc. - we want to believe that genes don't play a role. Besides, the role of the genes can also be a second order effect. The book Sports Gene by David Eppstein tells a story of sled racing dogs that were bred for motivation to run (apparently it can be bred). Naturally dogs that like running also want to train more and become better at it. Could it be that the motivation to do things like mathematics or programming are also heavily influenced by genetics?
- pete762 5y agoWell, the consequence of what you're writing is that if you're somewhere in life where you don't want to be you're pretty much out of luck 'cause genes (a little exaggerated, probably more true for future dreams).