Good introduction to heritability and polygenetics

A very interesting listen that didn't delve any further than necessary into the finer complexities about DNA to make its point. I found the professor very easy to listen to, and his enthusiasm for much of his life's work came across in his easy delivery of the content of the book.

For anyone interested in why you keep hearing your parents in your voice, or looking to understand how we are encoded, this is well worth your time and money. The ongoing progress that is described in this book makes you feel that we are about to see a paradigm shift in many areas of psychology... and life sciences more broadly.

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brilliance

Great explanation on DNA and the use of studies to back up his points. I have followed Robert Plomins work for a while, and he delivered very well with this book with a great narration.

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It’s a scary fact

I really liked the book. I’ve read some similar studies about DNA from Paul Bloom too. They both point to same direction. But this book had all info in one place with good back up to prove the theories. I believe in science and what he says, and that makes this fact quite scary.

I really recommend this book, specially to those who wants to have kids at some point in their life. You may decide to not have kids or choose the father/mother very carefully after listening/reading this book!

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challenging and enlightening

A clear and accessible explanation of how DNA shapes who we are, well read by the author. It challenges assumptions that many of us hold about the nature and nurture question. it describes what is, and not how we might like the world to be.

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A must read for parents and educators

A fascinating part of the evolving story of our genome. Quite academic but the way it is read helped. Skates quite near some controversial material but addresses some if those issues. I think this will be a book I’ll read again within a year which is rare.

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Good value but serious.

Ranges from the basics of genetics to more arcane discussion of the effect of polygenic scores on variance in phenotypes. Very well delivered and even the difficult bits could be followed with some effort. Rewarding overall.

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Fascinating

Has got me curious to try having my genes read. I had been familiar with twin studies before but the recent advances in gene reading have lead to predictive powers beyond what I imagined.

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Eye opening and lucid

How much of the differences in our personalities is genetic? I last thought about twin studies 50 years ago, when they were controversial both because of the taint of eugenics, and because of reported scientific malpractice by a major proponent, Cyril Burt. There's nothing wrong with the concept though, and since then, thousand of studies have looked at - I think - millions of twins. At the same time, I'd guess that sociology still argues that most of our difference in who we are is environmentally caused - by our home, our schools etc.

The first half of the book clearly explains how these studies have estimated how much of different aspects of personality is genetic, and for most traits, that's a whopping ~50%. It then goes on to list findings that are are both counterintuitive (or clash with other major discourses in society), and have big implications. For example, 50% or the differences in personality must therefore be environmentally caused, but it doesn't seem to be down to the home or the school. Also, most things we call mental illness or syndromes are simply extremes of a continuum.

The strength of twin studies is that we don't need to know how the genetic aspects actually work, but the second half of the book ties this to the other great genetic advance - the human genome, and tells us about the coming of the polygenic score, where you will be told all sorts of things about yourself from your genome sequence. I found this half less satisfying than the first half - I don't doubt that this will come, and we will be bombarded with predictions, but I don't see how it is actually going to be of any real use for individuals. The speed that the field is moving was evident to me when a scientific paper came out shortly after I finished the book, that filled one of the big holes in evidence the second part of the book talks about.

I found this book very thought-provoking, with a lot of genuinely surprising findings that challenge many basic and widely held assumptions about who we are. Much more of who we are is genetic than we realise, and while we can do things counter to our genetic make-up, that's hard work, and it makes sense to be aware and choose where to fight your genetics, and where to go with it.

Robert Plomin is an excellent reader, his writing is very clear, and my guess is that he will carry most people through the technical aspects at least enough so they can appreciate and think about the consequences of the evidence.

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Excellent

A story which needs a wider audience. Not necessarily telling people who follow the subjects much more than they will have been aware of, but still an excellent summary, well read. More people need to be made aware of these fundamentals and hopefully this book, from such an eminent and respected (by unbiased critics) scientist Will help spread the word. And the word is: Good

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Must read for all educators

This book is fascinating and gives evidence to basic truths that every experienced educator knows. Well worth a read I only hope policy makers will finally take notice.

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