Is Genius Genetic?

genius nature or nurture? Were the Mozarts and monaise of the world born with their genius or did their environment shape who they became? Genetics does appear to have a big role in our intelligence and talents. Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in Saint Louis have identified a specific genes that may help manage our skill level for organizing things logically. And although this is just one part of the mystery between our genes and intelligence, the discovery

certainly warrants some thought. This type of discovery may help explain why early studies in regard to intelligence seem to favor genetics over environment when it comes to IQ scores. Those studies showed that even though some adoptive children grew up in an environment completely separate from their biological parents, their IQs were more aligned with their biological parents than that of the adoptive parents. But that's not the end

of the story. That possible gene linked to organizing things logically is one piece of a much larger puzzle that goes for intelligence and other talents as well. Most of the time, when society claims someone as a genius, it's for multiple traits personality, cognitive capacity, motivation, all working together. Even though these loved traits have a basis in genetics, it doesn't mean that they're set in stone. After all,

one trait may require a collaboration of multiple genes. According to cognitive psychologist Scott Barry Kaufman, a hereditary advantage for a trait that might lead us to great things isn't sure to express itself. Genes develop on their own on their own timeline. That means someone could be a child prodigy if everything comes together early on, but genius might not emerge until later in life, and it could even wane. This is where genetics and environment collide. For anyone who

doesn't hit the genetic jackpot. How much hope can environmental influences provide a lot? It turns out, especially when it comes to superior performance. A per psychologist Kay Anders Ericson. Ericson found that even though our society's high performers, such as Olympic athletes and first chair musicians seem born to their roles, we can be assured that knowledge, training, and

practice are at play. In essence, they've earned their genius titles and set themselves apart through good old fashioned hard work. A Creating a setting conducive to hard work and developing a genius may start with a person's home environment. A socioeconomic status appears to be an underlying factor here, but even in the most loving and encouraging home, limited access to resources, educational programs, and even proper nutrition can be

daunting challenges. There's a concept in sociology called the Matthew effect, named for a biblical passage a Matthew twenty five twenty nine that describes how a person with abundance will continue

to accrue abundance. Its biblical meaning has been debated, but sociologically speaking, the Matthew effect means that people tend to gain success of whatever kind proportionally to whatever resources they started out with, So in talking about genius, the ideas that someone with even a minor natural ability has a better chance of growing that ability than a person without it.

This involves another psychological concept called the multiplier effect, which takes that inkling of ability and multiplies its strength exponentially to design an environment conducive to fostering it. For example, if a child shows a small amount of athletic promise, maybe they can kick a ball farther than their pals. That child might start kicking the ball more often, and might hang out with other kids who can kick a

ball and join a soccer team. The adults in the child's life might applaud their success, leading to even more practice and more achievement. On the other hand, a kid who falls down the first time they kick a ball might be picked last for the team and be too discouraged to give it another try. So neither genetics nor environment appear to work alone, and you can't misscessarily predict a genius from birth. Who knows when and at what

point your genius might develop? After all, what if the reason that the child fell the first time they tried to kick the ball wasn't because of a lack of skill, but rather slippery grass. Today's episode is based on the article is Genius Genetic on how stuffworks dot com, written by Elizabeth Sprouse. Brain Stuff is production of iHeartRadio in partnership with how Stuffworks dot Com and is produced by

Tyler Klang. Four more podcasts my heart Radio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.