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by noragami
2521 days ago
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Do genes really matter all that much? Speaking as a typical armchair expert here. Judging from a few of the latest pop-sci books on heredity, I was under the impression that culture and nurture play a much greater role: high quality medicine, food rich in nutrients, good education available to all. There's an interesting anecdote to support it. When the Soviet Union (with all its faults) was established, it has provided education to much broader masses of the population than ever before. You know how it turned out? When you read the biographies of the many of the brightest academics of the USSR, many of them are descendants of a typical peasant family. Some of their parents weren't able to read or write, had a lot of children, etc. This "genetic handicap" didn't stop them from getting a degree and becoming bright scientists. |
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Yes.
> Judging from a few of the latest pop-sci books
That's not really much better than “judging from my newspaper horoscope”.
> I was under the impression that culture and nurture play a much greater role: high quality medicine, food rich in nutrients, good education available to all.
Those play a huge role in whether genetic potential will be reached, genetics play a huge role in the actual outcome given similar environment.
> When you read the biographies of the many of the brightest academics of the USSR, many of them are descendants of a typical peasant family. Some of their parents weren't able to read or write, had a lot of children, etc. This "genetic handicap"
You describe an socioeconomic handicap, not a genetic one, so it doesn't really say anything about the effects of genetics.