WEBVTT - Is Genius Genetic?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of iHeartRadio, Hey brain Stuff

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<v Speaker 1>Lauren Volgebaum here, what does it take to be considered

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<v Speaker 1>a genius? Is a genius a remarkable artist who moves

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<v Speaker 1>our spirits, a scientist who changes the way we understand

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<v Speaker 1>the world, or a student who scores off the charts

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<v Speaker 1>on every aptitude test. Okay, tests can be biased, in

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<v Speaker 1>can be gained, But consider those other varieties of geniuses,

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<v Speaker 1>people with amazing musical, artistic, athletic, and intellectual talents. Is

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<v Speaker 1>genius nature or nurture? Were the Mozarts and monaise of

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<v Speaker 1>the world born with their genius or did their environment

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<v Speaker 1>shape who they became? Genetics does appear to have a

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<v Speaker 1>big role in our intelligence and talents. Researchers at Washington

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<v Speaker 1>University School of Medicine in Saint Louis have identified a

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<v Speaker 1>specific genes that may help manage our skill level for

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<v Speaker 1>organizing things logically. And although this is just one part

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<v Speaker 1>of the mystery between our genes and intelligence, the discovery

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<v Speaker 1>certainly warrants some thought. This type of discovery may help

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<v Speaker 1>explain why early studies in regard to intelligence seem to

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<v Speaker 1>favor genetics over environment when it comes to IQ scores.

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<v Speaker 1>Those studies showed that even though some adoptive children grew

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<v Speaker 1>up in an environment completely separate from their biological parents,

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<v Speaker 1>their IQs were more aligned with their biological parents than

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<v Speaker 1>that of the adoptive parents. But that's not the end

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<v Speaker 1>of the story. That possible gene linked to organizing things

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<v Speaker 1>logically is one piece of a much larger puzzle that

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<v Speaker 1>goes for intelligence and other talents as well. Most of

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<v Speaker 1>the time, when society claims someone as a genius, it's

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<v Speaker 1>for multiple traits personality, cognitive capacity, motivation, all working together.

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<v Speaker 1>Even though these loved traits have a basis in genetics,

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<v Speaker 1>it doesn't mean that they're set in stone. After all,

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<v Speaker 1>one trait may require a collaboration of multiple genes. According

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<v Speaker 1>to cognitive psychologist Scott Barry Kaufman, a hereditary advantage for

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<v Speaker 1>a trait that might lead us to great things isn't

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<v Speaker 1>sure to express itself. Genes develop on their own on

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<v Speaker 1>their own timeline. That means someone could be a child

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<v Speaker 1>prodigy if everything comes together early on, but genius might

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<v Speaker 1>not emerge until later in life, and it could even wane.

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<v Speaker 1>This is where genetics and environment collide. For anyone who

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<v Speaker 1>doesn't hit the genetic jackpot. How much hope can environmental

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<v Speaker 1>influences provide a lot? It turns out, especially when it

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<v Speaker 1>comes to superior performance. A per psychologist Kay Anders Ericson.

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<v Speaker 1>Ericson found that even though our society's high performers, such

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<v Speaker 1>as Olympic athletes and first chair musicians seem born to

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<v Speaker 1>their roles, we can be assured that knowledge, training, and

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<v Speaker 1>practice are at play. In essence, they've earned their genius

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<v Speaker 1>titles and set themselves apart through good old fashioned hard work.

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<v Speaker 1>A Creating a setting conducive to hard work and developing

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<v Speaker 1>a genius may start with a person's home environment. A

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<v Speaker 1>socioeconomic status appears to be an underlying factor here, but

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<v Speaker 1>even in the most loving and encouraging home, limited access

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<v Speaker 1>to resources, educational programs, and even proper nutrition can be

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<v Speaker 1>daunting challenges. There's a concept in sociology called the Matthew effect,

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<v Speaker 1>named for a biblical passage a Matthew twenty five twenty

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<v Speaker 1>nine that describes how a person with abundance will continue

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<v Speaker 1>to accrue abundance. Its biblical meaning has been debated, but

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<v Speaker 1>sociologically speaking, the Matthew effect means that people tend to

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<v Speaker 1>gain success of whatever kind proportionally to whatever resources they

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<v Speaker 1>started out with, So in talking about genius, the ideas

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<v Speaker 1>that someone with even a minor natural ability has a

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<v Speaker 1>better chance of growing that ability than a person without it.

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<v Speaker 1>This involves another psychological concept called the multiplier effect, which

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<v Speaker 1>takes that inkling of ability and multiplies its strength exponentially

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<v Speaker 1>to design an environment conducive to fostering it. For example,

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<v Speaker 1>if a child shows a small amount of athletic promise,

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<v Speaker 1>maybe they can kick a ball farther than their pals.

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<v Speaker 1>That child might start kicking the ball more often, and

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<v Speaker 1>might hang out with other kids who can kick a

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<v Speaker 1>ball and join a soccer team. The adults in the

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<v Speaker 1>child's life might applaud their success, leading to even more

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<v Speaker 1>practice and more achievement. On the other hand, a kid

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<v Speaker 1>who falls down the first time they kick a ball

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<v Speaker 1>might be picked last for the team and be too

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<v Speaker 1>discouraged to give it another try. So neither genetics nor

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<v Speaker 1>environment appear to work alone, and you can't misscessarily predict

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<v Speaker 1>a genius from birth. Who knows when and at what

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<v Speaker 1>point your genius might develop? After all, what if the

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<v Speaker 1>reason that the child fell the first time they tried

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<v Speaker 1>to kick the ball wasn't because of a lack of skill,

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<v Speaker 1>but rather slippery grass. Today's episode is based on the

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<v Speaker 1>article is Genius Genetic on how stuffworks dot com, written

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<v Speaker 1>by Elizabeth Sprouse. Brain Stuff is production of iHeartRadio in

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<v Speaker 1>partnership with how Stuffworks dot Com and is produced by

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<v Speaker 1>Tyler Klang. Four more podcasts my heart Radio, visit the

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