Today’s quote: “Genius is nothing more nor less than childhood recaptured at will.” – Charles Baudelaire

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Nature is what we think of as pre-wiring and is influenced by genetic inheritance and other biological factors. Psychological researchers who take an extreme nature position publish articles on “nativism.”

Nurture is generally understood as the influence of external factors after conception. Examples of nurturing include exposure to one’s environment, undergoing unforeseen events, and learning from others and individually. Psychological researchers who take an extreme nurture position publish articles on “empiricism.”

Instead of defending extreme nativist or nurturist views, most psychological researchers are now interested in investigating how nature and nurture interact. (The information in this and the above paragraphs is paraphrased from this website.)

The debate surrounding nature vs. nurture is spurred on by questions such as “Do genetic or environmental factors have a greater influence on a person’s behavior?” and “Do inherited traits or life experiences play a greater role in shaping one’s personality?” In other words, when a person is successful in one form or another, did they make their achievements because they are genetically predisposed to be successful, or is it a result of an enriched environment and/or hard work?

From my own experience and perspective, I tend to fall somewhere right in the middle of the nature-nurture argument. On one part, I believe I am where I am thanks to the people who went before me and influenced my upbringing. On the other part, I believe I am where I am thanks to my own dedication to, desire for, and perhaps proclivity to being productive and continually moving forward in projects and undertakings. In the grand scheme of things, if I had to fall more on one side of the spectrum, I would say I believe humans are impacted more deeply by elements pertaining to nurture.

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Happy Veteran’s Day (one day late). To all the veterans and those currently serving: thank you.

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Riddle:

I’m tall when I’m young, and I’m short when I’m old. What am I?

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