Behavior, Talent And Genetics
http://thekojonnamdishow.org/shows/2012-09-10/behavior-talent-and-genetics
Guest Host:
Rebecca Roberts
What role does genetics play in talent? If your Dad is a great swimmer or your Mom has perfect pitch, what's the likelihood you and your siblings (or your grandkids) will also share those skills? We talk with science writer Sam Kean about how genes influence our behavior and our identity.
Guests
Sam Kean
author, "The Violinist's Thumb: And Other Lost Tales of Love, War, and Genius, as Written by our Genetic Code" (Little Brown)
Comments
Please familiarize yourself with our Code of Conduct and Terms of Use before posting your comments.
Although we might notice the obvious ways we (and other mamals fail to interbreed) because of gross DNA structures, just almost mentioned was the many ways we have cross bread with various microbes and the posibly powerful ways they have influenced host behaviors.
Much of this is hidden and produced by the secondary and tirtiary structures (methelation etc.) that epigenitics has just started to scratch. The next book could be 'Your Mama's Laugh" and 'The Genetics of War & Sin", etc. I have been using the topics of this show for 15 years, to lead my patients to be more interested in their health and learning to manage it.
My career is almost ended, and it is a great relief to hear so many of these ideas on your show. I even wrote a short paper on the potential of molecular computers (including microbes which we have already sent into space. (again?)).
Viral control not withstanding, I suspect that human behavior is a balance between "will" or "moral strength" influenced/moderated by heredity and environment or genetics and upbringing.
Courts and churches implicitly recognize that some bad behaviors are sometimes guiltless and sometimes guilty.
I hope we will soon start to understand how genetic 'voting' (behavior genes) can affect the strength of the genetic influence, and the best forms of education and training to strengthen the will to healthy behavior.
It will be a long time before the politics, economics, and science allow us to extend more effective universal primary education to the age of psycho-neurological maturity. This could make almost every member of society more likely to be socially & ecomomically flexible, competent, & productive.
Until then, enjoy the chaos.