On genetics and the IQ debate:
...we have long assumed that talent is a genetic thing some of us have and others don't but new science suggests the source of abilities is much more interesting and improvisational. It turns out that everything we are is a developmental process and this includes what we get from our genes.
...everything about us - our personalities, our intelligence, our abilities - are actually determined by the lives we lead. The very notion of "innate" no longer holds together.
He warns:
It would be folly to suggest that anyone can literally do or become anything. But the new science tells us that it's equally foolish to think that mediocrity is built into most of us, or that any of us can know our true limits before we've applied enormous resources and invested vast amounts of time.
He concludes:
Our abilities are not set in genetic stone. They are soft and sculptable, far into adulthood. With humility, with hope, and with extraordinary determination, greatness is something to which any kid - of any age - can aspire.
I guess that's hope for all of us.
Related:
I.Q. Debate Adds a Chapter Online - New York Times
Nature versus nurture - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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