• Question: Is your ability to learn determined in your genetics?

    Asked by fisherjwh to Helen, Jenni, Mark, Martin, Stu on 23 Jun 2011. This question was also asked by bealeewh.
    • Photo: Mark Burnley

      Mark Burnley answered on 22 Jun 2011:

      It’s a great question, I don’t think it has been answered. However, that some people pick skills up much quicker than others, and are called “naturals” as a result. I have no idea about the scientific basis of this though, but Stu might.

    • Photo: Helen O'Connor

      Helen O'Connor answered on 23 Jun 2011:

      This is the classic “nature/nurture” debate – is it our genes or our environment that make us who we are. Most psychologists would now agree that it is a mixture of both.

      What we know about intelligence (not that this is really a good measure of how well you “learn new things”) mostly comes from studies of twins raised apart (like when twins are adopted into two different families). This helps us work out whether who they become as adults is mostly because of the ways they are the same (their genes) or the ways they are different (they grew up in different envioronments/families).

      It would seem that genes are possibly 40%+ responsible for intelligence. The good news is that this means that other things like your school, how much your parents help you at home, your friends, and even your diet and health, can also influence how intelligent you become.

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