Alexander Hollins wrote: > I was going to say, we've enough evidence of twins , seperated at > birth, brought up in very different environments, being very similar > to each other as adults. >
I've heard that twins share a numer of startling coincidences in their lives. Like naming their pets the same, by example. If they are separated at birth, they must be more different than if they are raised together. And even if they are raised together, that does not prevent them to be very different persons, with a numer of striking coincidences in their lives. And don't forget that twins share an almost identical environment during what is the most important period of their entire lives at the developmental level: their mother's womb. > On Fri, Nov 20, 2009 at 1:44 PM, Jones Beene <jone...@pacbell.net> wrote: > >> This brings up the "nature vs nurture" debate - BUT - also let's update the >> scenario in a modern techno-context ... IOW don't overlook that fact that we >> are approaching a future where, due to artificial intelligence and "expert >> systems", it might be possible to maximize both nature and nurture - at the >> same time and in the same individual. >> Yes, I was thinking about that... I think genius is the result of a number of factors, the genetic element being just one of them, and probably not the most important. Nurture, in the most elementary sense(nutrients during the intrauterine life and early childhood), and subtle environmental factors during development, being probably the most determinant of all the elements. >> Not sure how that would work, in actual practice, but it would rely heavily >> on computerized training and enforced hardship - but should be able >> (eventually) to mitigate the problem of the 'spoiled rich kid' or the >> underachiever who is rebelling against too much familial pressure ... >> >> ... this is starting to sound like neo-eugenics, eh? >> Yes. The "problem" with all these approaches will always fortunately be human free will: probably Galileo's clon will be more interested in chasing girls, playing the tube, or rock climbing. Who knows. I certainly hope so. There's another potential factor also: the passing of time. What will be the effect of living in the 21 century with a genome which was current 600 years ago? Probably none, but who can say for sure?
