How much of child's intelligence is from nature vs nurture?
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Anonymous
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considering donor egg process - but am disappointed with education history of the donors. Very few have even a college education.
What is your take on importance of donor's level of education? |
Anonymous
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If I were getting an egg donor, I'd want someone with an Ivy League education. But in reality, I know damn well that I value street smarts and creativity over book smarts.
Did Billy Joel even graduate from high school? I know Albert Einstein barely made it through. Didn't Mark Zuckerberg drop out of Harvard? I'd worry a thousand times more about alcoholism and mental illness running in their families than how much education they had. |
Anonymous
| Its both. Our child's birth mom did not go to college but it was clear she, her parents and sibling were very bright and good people. Education is important but not everyone has that opportunity and just because someone did not go to college didn't mean they are dumb. |
Anonymous
| Intelligence and college education is linked? Tell that to the creator of Dilbert! |
Anonymous
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How scientists have tackled this question is with twin studies. From the WSJ:
"More than any other evidence, it was the study of twins that brought about this change. "Born Together—Reared Apart," a new book by Nancy L. Segal about the Minnesota study of Twins Reared Apart (Mistra), narrates the history of the shift. In 1979, Thomas Bouchard of the University of Minnesota came across a newspaper report about a set of Ohio twins, separated at birth, who had been reunited and proved to possess uncannily similar habits. Dr. Bouchard began to collect case histories of twins raised apart and to invite them to Minneapolis for study. By 1990, he, Dr. Segal and other colleagues were ready to publish their results in Science magazine. By then they had measured the IQ of 48 pairs of monozygotic, or identical, twins, raised apart (MZA) and 40 pairs of such twins raised together (MZT). The MZA twins were 69% similar in IQ, compared with 88% for MZT twins, both far greater resemblances than for any other pairs of individuals, even siblings. Other variables than genetics, such as material possessions in the home, had little influence, nor was the degree of social contact between the twins in each pair associated with their similarity in IQ." |
Anonymous
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Oh I forgot to post the WSJ link
http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304898704577478482432277706 |
Anonymous
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^ To paraphrase and add to the above PP, the IQ of children raised in high-income homes is determined primarily by genetics. In low-income settings, primarily external forces.
Unfortunately you can't pay someone for high quality eggs so you get what is out there. |
Anonymous
| U mm there are quite a few ivy folks paying part of their tuition or student loans by helping folks who want eggs and have spare cash... |
Anonymous
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It's hard to predict either way. You may be very smart and your biological child may be dumb as he/she may have inherited some genes from someone in your family history. Or your child may be as smart or smarter than you because he/she inherited smartness gene from you. But we can't predict either way what the outcome is going to be like. It's a similar case with the egg donor.
I agree with one of the PPs who said mental illness was important. I agree and am scared of that fact. Egg donors can lie and say there is no mental health history in her family so that she can donate eggs and get money. |
Anonymous
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One of my parents is a genius and one is... average. They are great parents and raised us in a loving home wanting for nothing. I am very intelligent but struggle with depression, and while I have been able to support myself doing something I enjoy, I've never been very ambitious. My sibling, who was never a great brain but alwYs emotionally healthy and even-keel, worked hard and is now a talented and respected physician, and a wonderful parent as well.
It's the proverbial box of chocolates. All you can do is your best. |
Anonymous
| I have always done well in school and am a successful attorney. My father is highly intelligent but didn't have the character in his young age to pursue higher education. My mother is probably of average or maybe lower intelligence and is a diagnosed schizophrenic. You never know how genes will interact. You never really know the reasons why people don't get higher education. Maybe they have high inherent intelligence but they had a crappy home life with parents who didn't care. Or they couldn't afford it. Or they were careless with birth control, got pregnant early and couldn't quite get back on track. |
Anonymous
Amusing to see Billy Joel used as a standard-bearer for excellence and high IQ. Along those lines, I wonder if the Kardashians and Ted Nugent even graduated from high school? And: do you realize how few family trees are entirely free of alcoholism, other substance abuse, and depression? |
Anonymous
| I think more important than intelligence or academic achievement in life is happiness and compassion for others. A smart child isn't necessarily happy. I want my child to be happy and kind, above all. I think genetics and nurture play a role in both of those things, with nurture being extremely important. |
Anonymous
+ a million |
Anonymous
| The twin studies are intriguing but didn't take into account epigenetics, which makes them less relevant in a donor egg situation. |