Nature, nurture or something else?

I’ve just read “The Hidden Half: How the World Conceals its Secrets”, by Michael Blastland.

And it seems the common ‘nature versus nurture’ debate is critically flawed. The flaw, Blastland posits, is that there’s a 3rd option.

It should be “nature, nurture or neither“.

The book, and a ton of scientific research, shows that genes and environment (combined) only account for around half our outcomes. The remaining half is a chasm of possible factors, which skewers much of the data out there. Data used by health professionals, governments, scientists and just about everyone else.

Rather generously, The RSA has published a video presentation by Blastland, which gives a superb look into his findings (see below). If you enjoy the presentation, you’ll probably find the book interesting too.

It’s an eye-opener, for sure.