Comments on: Is expertise under genetic control? http://www.smallgraymatters.com/2006/08/15/13/ of brains and their minds Mon, 24 May 2010 19:44:33 -0700 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Jonah http://www.smallgraymatters.com/2006/08/15/13/comment-page-1/#comment-285 Jonah Thu, 17 Aug 2006 15:23:51 +0000 http://www.smallgraymatters.com/2006/08/15/13/#comment-285 Thanks for the excellent feedback. I posted the following comments over at my own blog: "For a lucid criticism of my argument, see smallgraymatters.com. I agree that this issue is bound to remain mired in issues of causation and correlation for the foreseeable future. However, I disagree about what our default position should be, given that we don't know very much. Small and Gray argues that "in the interim, the appropriate position is probably to default to existing estimates obtained in non-expert domains, and maintain that it's a bit of both: genetic and environmental contributions both influence expert performance." My own belief is that the startling demonstrations of neural plasticity, coupled with an inability to identify genes or innate psychological factors (like reaction times, intelligence, etc.) that aren't domain specific, should lead us to focus increasingly on the nurture side of the equation when discussing expertise. But I thank Small and Gray, as always, for his excellent comments and criticisms." Thanks for the excellent feedback. I posted the following comments over at my own blog:
“For a lucid criticism of my argument, see smallgraymatters.com. I agree that this issue is bound to remain mired in issues of causation and correlation for the foreseeable future. However, I disagree about what our default position should be, given that we don’t know very much. Small and Gray argues that “in the interim, the appropriate position is probably to default to existing estimates obtained in non-expert domains, and maintain that it’s a bit of both: genetic and environmental contributions both influence expert performance.” My own belief is that the startling demonstrations of neural plasticity, coupled with an inability to identify genes or innate psychological factors (like reaction times, intelligence, etc.) that aren’t domain specific, should lead us to focus increasingly on the nurture side of the equation when discussing expertise. But I thank Small and Gray, as always, for his excellent comments and criticisms.”

]]> By: small and gray http://www.smallgraymatters.com/2006/08/15/13/comment-page-1/#comment-279 small and gray Wed, 16 Aug 2006 14:53:36 +0000 http://www.smallgraymatters.com/2006/08/15/13/#comment-279 Andy, There's a huge literature on his. I'd suggest doing a Google Scholar or Pubmed search. Here are a few of the first relevant hits: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=10761349&dopt=Citation http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=16670651&query_hl=3&itool=pubmed_docsum http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=16212837&query_hl=3&itool=pubmed_docsum http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=14574134&query_hl=3&itool=pubmed_docsum There are literally dozens of other relevant studies that have looked at this issue. While the numbers vary slightly, the estimate of additive genetic effects on different measures of aggression is typically in the ballpark of 50-60%. Hope this helps. Andy,

There’s a huge literature on his. I’d suggest doing a Google Scholar or Pubmed search. Here are a few of the first relevant hits:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=10761349&dopt=Citation
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=16670651&query_hl=3&itool=pubmed_docsum
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=16212837&query_hl=3&itool=pubmed_docsum
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=14574134&query_hl=3&itool=pubmed_docsum

There are literally dozens of other relevant studies that have looked at this issue. While the numbers vary slightly, the estimate of additive genetic effects on different measures of aggression is typically in the ballpark of 50-60%.

Hope this helps.

]]> By: Andy http://www.smallgraymatters.com/2006/08/15/13/comment-page-1/#comment-278 Andy Wed, 16 Aug 2006 09:26:40 +0000 http://www.smallgraymatters.com/2006/08/15/13/#comment-278 Do you have a reference for the aggression and genetics study you mention? Sounds interesting. Do you have a reference for the aggression and genetics study you mention? Sounds interesting.

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