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The controversy over whether Nature or Nurture determines who we are is taking a new shape. Psychologists, philosophers and scientists have developed different theories over the decades to explain the characteristics of human beings; how we feel, think and behave. Usually, these theories were one directional in the nature/nurture question. Today, a new approach finds a middle ground between nature and nurture. The conclusion that nature and nurture are complementary and work hand and hand to shape a behavior is not a compromise; it is a result of a vigorous study of each of the components of the equation of heredity and environment and their affects on determining one’s development and behavior. Nature and nurture are similarly influences rather than determinants, not only singly but also in combination.
Some believe that although knowledge may be nurtured, our genetically determined forms modify how we categorize our experiences. Oliver Sacks, author and neurologist, describes the unique behavior of a group of his patients who are savants. A savant is someone who demonstrates an extraordinary talent in a particular field such as art, music, or mathematics. A large percentage of savants are autistic with limitations in their ability to personally relate to others. Sacks became friends with a young boy named Stephen, who was an autistic savant, capable of memorizing complex scenery at a glace and retaining the information for months. When asked he would accurately construct a pen and ink sketch from what he had observed earlier. He started his pictures at one edge of the paper, working across the other edge, filling in the framework and all the details without an outline. While drawing, “the house could come down” and Stephen would not notice. He sometimes took artistic license and added features, which did not originally exist, but the basics, the original flavor, remained. In a sense, having demonstrated his enormous talent at an early age, he had little...