NATURE VS. NURTURE? THIS MAY BE THE ULTIMATE ADOPTION QUESTION.

NATURE VS. NURTURE? THIS MAY BE THE ULTIMATE ADOPTION QUESTION.

With the advent of genetic testing, having family members test, on the same site, can make it easier than ever to discover first or birth familial ties. It can also give you information about your ancestry. And if you test on www.23andme.com, you may also be able to obtain information about health and personal traits. But, what if you could discover information about your IQ, or Intelligence Quotient, through the same type of testing? Your Intelligence Quotient is your ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills that you obtain throughout your life.

According to Antonio Regalado, a Senior Editor at Biomedicine for MIT Technology Review, “A year ago, no gene had ever been tied to performance on an IQ test. Since then, more than 500 have …” While genetic testing and its link to intelligence is still in its infancy, with more testing and research happening around the world, more and more links are being made to more and more genes that may be able to better predict IQ.

Not every scientist agrees that genetic testing can predict IQ, they say, ‘why not give an IQ test?’ But, despite the issue with the accuracy of genetic testing and IQ now, IQ tests, that used to be mandatory for children around third grade, have not been totally accurate in predicting how an individual will do later in life either.

This brings up the issue of Tabula Rasa, a Latin term for blank slate. This theory supports the nurture side of the battle between nature versus nurture. The blank slate theory says that all knowledge comes from the experiences and perceptions that an individual will have, and these experiences and perceptions are what will shape IQ. I liken this to reading to your children from a very young age, their experience with books, language, and the interaction you have with them of forming a parental and social bond. 

The nature side of the equation, on the other hand, states that the mind is born with knowledge or pre-wired. With this theory, a person’s genes then could predict their IQ.

So, which is it? Science can't answer this question yet, but nurturing your child’s practical, creative, and analytic intelligence can only lead to the creation of our next greatgeneration.