Nature versus nurture

Since I can remember (and certainly long prior to my birth), many have debated nature versus nurture. This Wikidpedia entry summarize the issue – Nature versus nurture

Recent data on the genetics of various traits adds fuel to the nature side. That Wild Streak? Maybe It Runs in the Family

“The scientific facts have changed,” said Steven Pinker, a psychologist at Harvard who documented cultural resistance to the influence of genetics on behavior in his 2002 book “The Blank Slate.”

“We now have real evidence that some of the variation in personality is inherited,” Dr. Pinker said, “and I think it may be affecting people’s everyday choices.”

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There is nothing new about the idea that temperament and behavior are shaped by genetic endowment. Families have long clucked over a trademark stubborn streak showing up in a new generation, or crowed about inherited creative abilities. But as science begins to corroborate intuition, the public is reassessing where credit and responsibility lie for character traits that may be in part genetically preordained.

“To summarize, want to live until a ripe old age? Have parents that live long,” Joe Pickrell, a 23-year-old graduate genetics student wrote in a recent blog entry. “Think you’re a friendly, peaceful guy ’cause your mom raised you right? Think again. Able to try drugs just a couple times and never get hooked because of your strong will? Nope.” (Mr. Pickrell, of Chicago, punctuated each clause with a link to a recent scientific journal article describing the genetic component of life expectancy, aggression and susceptibility to drug addiction.)

I personally attribute my enjoyment of public speaking (apparently a very unusual trait – Fear of Public Speaking) to my mother’s side of the family. My greatgrandfather was a famous opera conductor – History of the Israeli Opera.

A few years later, in 1923, the famous conductor Mordechai Golinkin arrived in Palestine from Russia. Previously, in 1917 he had written “The Vision of the Hebrew Art Temple of Opera Work in Palestine”, about a place where operas from the international repertoire would be staged in Hebrew along with works by Jewish composers on Jewish themes.

The Palestine Opera, set up by Golinkin, debuted on July 28, 1923, with a performance of La traviata. Since no suitable hall had been found, it took place at the Eden Cinema on Lillenblum Street in Tel Aviv, at the Zion Hall in Jerusalem and at the Coliseum Cinema in Haifa. In spite of the location difficulties it had soloists (professional and experienced new immigrants), a choir (eight members of the “Kadima” amateur choir) and an orchestra (twelve students from the “Shulamith” Conservatory). In its first season the Palestine Opera presented no less than six performances. They turned out to be a great success and opera became a fact in the country that later became Israel.

So this is apparently an inherited trait (or at least I so believe). As we learn more about the genetics of personality, predispositions and behavior, I believe we will more easily understand what makes us tick.

Marcus Buckingham, in First, Break All the Rules, states:

The great manager mantra is don’t try to put in what was left out; instead draw out what was left in. You must hire for talent, and hone that talent into outstanding performance.

I believe that we should each strive to find a niche that fits our inherited talents. We should not try to change ourselves too much – it just will not work.