[extropy-chat] it's all understandable, except

[Damien Broderick]

At 02:25 PM 11/5/2006 -0800, Lee wrote:
>The Nurture Assumption,
>it's related---and Pinker endorses this---that your adult personality is
>determined half by genes and half by your peer group (as you're growing
>up).
>
>So I retort that the "wrecked ones" MB speaks of---having succumbed
>to drugs, drinking, and other maladaptive behaviors---are a small
>minority.  Almost everyone turns out (as in the twin studies) pretty much
>the same as if they'd been raised hundreds of miles apart by
>entirely different families.

The assumption of homogeneity in peer groups begs the question at 
issue. It might in practise be the case that separated median twins 
in a white-bread culture turn out much the same, but if one 
potentially brilliant twin grew up with well-educated peers and the 
other grew up among violent and stupid scumbags, that 50% due to peer 
influence would have a marked differentiating influence. Not to say 
*what* influence--maybe the trash surrounds would bring out genius, 
while the comfortable violin lessons with polyglot chums would induce 
complacency and oar-resting.

Damien Broderick