Letters: Jun. 23, 2003

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What Makes You Special

Matt Ridley wrote about the age-old dispute over which is more influential in creating the behavior and personality of a human being, nature or nurture [SCIENCE, June 2]. With our ever greater understanding of how genetics works, it is becoming increasingly apparent that the nature-vs.-nurture debate has been too polarized. Nature (genetics) and nurture (training and environment) are so intertwined that it is almost impossible to claim that one is dominant over the other. Ridley speculated that it may be the way our minds work that has sustained this perennial debate. It has been true that when we analyze body and mind or determinism and free will, we tend to create dichotomies where none exist. It is often hard to see the gray areas between the false extremes that we have come to believe are real. ALLAN SALTZMAN Hamden, Conn.

Ridley provided an excellent summary of the research on genetics and the debate over nature vs. nurture. I was offended, however, by the article's conclusion, which stated that "it may be in our nature...to seek simple, linear, cause-and-effect stories and not think in terms of circular causation, in which effects become their own causes." This line of thinking may be true for the inheritors of the Western scientific and philosophical traditions, but it is not for the many people who think much more holistically and to whom the concept of "circular causation" seems very familiar indeed. ELLEN ARNOLD Boone, N.C.

I hoped your article would deliver the goods and tell me what it is that makes me special, putting to rest a long-standing suspicion that I am not. I am similar, in some ways even identical, to millions of other humans. Do I really, truly matter, or will I sooner or later be forgotten? Well, Ridley's article--I can't say I'm surprised--failed to deliver. While it's reassuring to hear that scientists are finally losing their infatuation with all the hype about genes as the final word on human nature, it's just as apparent that they're still a long way from a real understanding of why we do what we do. My search will continue. SOLOMON DIXON Redondo Beach, Calif.

Having been adopted, I conclude from my experience that we get our behavior and personalities from our genes and our habits from the nurturing of others or our environment. My birth mother and my adoptive mother are as different as night and day, and seeing what each of them has passed on to me has been an enrichment and a joy. BETTY A. NORMAN Netcong, N.J.

As a mother who dedicated her life to nurturing her children, I found the statement "Nature is designed for nurture" uplifting and reassuring. While parents' nurturing may not always yield the desired results in their children, it is a comforting thought that according to our latest understanding, the outcome would be a lot worse without a nurturing environment. Best of all, at 66 years young, I can claim to be still growing, this time with science backing me up. JULIANNA CSONGOR King of Prussia, Pa.

Don't Be Driven by Fear