Blueprint : How DNA makes us who we are (winter reading group)

This initial posting is informational only- there is no event at 2am on NY Eve!- about a winter reading group I intend organizing over 2 lunch sessions in Jan and February 2025.

I first want to see how many folks are interested in reading through this book, and give you time to get a copy of it before we start in the New Year. If you are interested in this reading group please click "attending", and then I will post updated meetup sessions some time in December. For this meeting I try to keep the numbers somewhat smaller for the lunch discussions, and will thus run repeat sessions if interest is high to ensure everyone can attend.

The book is Blueprint: how our DNA makes us who we are by Robert Plomin. The publisher has a video about the author and book here:

https://youtu.be/FptGxaxJyms?si=wBSgyCuPgBJ_6d6Q

Here is the book blurb:

In Blueprint, behavioral geneticist Robert Plomin describes how the DNA revolution has made DNA personal by giving us the power to predict our psychological strengths and weaknesses from birth. A century of genetic research shows that DNA differences inherited from our parents are the consistent life-long sources of our psychological individuality—the blueprint that makes us who we are. This, says Plomin, is a game changer.

Plomin has been working on these issues for almost fifty years, conducting longitudinal studies of twins and adoptees. He reports that genetics explains more of the psychological differences among people than all other factors combined. Genetics accounts for fifty percent of psychological differences—not just mental health and school achievement but all psychological traits, from personality to intellectual abilities. Nature, not nurture is what makes us who we are.

Plomin explores the implications of this, drawing some provocative conclusions—among them that parenting styles don't really affect children's outcomes once genetics is taken into effect. Neither tiger mothers nor attachment parenting affects children's ability to get into Harvard. After describing why DNA matters, Plomin explains what DNA does, offering readers a unique insider's view of the exciting synergies that came from combining genetics and psychology.

Hope to see some of you there for this winter reading group session!

Cheers,
Colin