The Genius in All of Us: New Insights into Genetics, Talent, and IQ

Written by:
David Shenk
Narrated by:
Mark Deakins

Unabridged Audiobook

Ratings
Book
5
Narrator
1
Release Date
March 2010
Duration
5 hours 15 minutes
Summary
With irresistibly persuasive vigor, David Shenk debunks the long-standing notion of genetic “giftedness,” and presents dazzling new scientific research showing how greatness is in the reach of every individual.

DNA does not make us who we are. “Forget everything you think you know about genes, talent, and intelligence,” he writes. “In recent years, a mountain of scientific evidence has emerged suggesting a completely new paradigm: not talent scarcity, but latent talent abundance.”

Integrating cutting-edge research from a wide swath of disciplines—cognitive science, genetics, biology, child development—Shenk offers a highly optimistic new view of human potential. The problem isn't our inadequate genetic assets, but our inability, so far, to tap into what we already have. IQ testing and widespread acceptance of “innate” abilities have created an unnecessarily pessimistic view of humanity—and fostered much misdirected public policy, especially in education.

The truth is much more exciting. Genes are not a “blueprint” that bless some with greatness and doom most of us to mediocrity or worse. Rather our individual destinies are a product of the complex interplay between genes and outside stimuli-a dynamic that we, as people and as parents, can influence.

This is a revolutionary and optimistic message. We are not prisoners of our DNA. We all have the potential for greatness.


Includes a bonus PDF of the back pages, containing chapter notes, expansions on the material, and a bibliography
Reviews
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nab6215

This book surprised me. I was still sold on the old "you are born with it or you're not" theory. Based on what I've been people who've recovered from accidents or severe illness so, it makes more sense. I don't think I ever would have understood it if I hadn't been watching SciShow on YouTube. I particularly recommended the episode on Epigenetics, which is where I first heard the word. I also recommend this book.

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Anonymous

This book covers new ideas in gene/environment interaction and how genius is expressed.

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