Do Genes Really Determine Your Hobbies, Relationships, and Voting Habits?
Science and Pop Culture Make DNA Seem All-Important, But Nurture Still Matters as Much as Nature
Over the past 25 years, we’ve become surprisingly comfortable with the idea that genes play a large role in our lives. When DNA is in the mix, people assume that it is the primary cause of whatever human trait is being talked about. People may choose whether to pursue a hobby or a relationship based on test results—even though it means that they must dismiss the other information they have at their disposal. Judges have even used genetic tests to make sentencing decisions.
Even science has carried this idea to …
