Letters

Sunday, June 15, 2003
    • What Makes You Special

    Matt Ridley wrote about the age-old dispute over which is more influential in creating the behavior and personality of a human being, nature or nurture [SCIENCE, June 2]. With our ever greater understanding of how genetics works, it is becoming increasingly apparent that the nature-vs.-nurture debate has been too polarized. Nature (genetics) and nurture (training and environment) are so intertwined that it is almost impossible to claim that one is dominant over the other. Ridley speculated that it may be the way our minds work that has sustained this perennial debate. It has been true that when we analyze body and mind or determinism and free will, we tend to create dichotomies where none exist. It is often hard to see the gray areas between the false extremes that we have come to believe are real.
    ALLAN SALTZMAN
    Hamden, Conn.


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    Ridley provided an excellent summary of the research on genetics and the debate over nature vs. nurture. I was offended, however, by the article's conclusion, which stated that "it may be in our nature...to seek simple, linear, cause-and-effect stories and not think in terms of circular causation, in which effects become their own causes." This line of thinking may be true for the inheritors of the Western scientific and philosophical traditions, but it is not for the many people who think much more holistically and to whom the concept of "circular causation" seems very familiar indeed.
    ELLEN ARNOLD
    Boone, N.C.

    I hoped your article would deliver the goods and tell me what it is that makes me special, putting to rest a long-standing suspicion that I am not. I am similar, in some ways even identical, to millions of other humans. Do I really, truly matter, or will I sooner or later be forgotten? Well, Ridley's article — I can't say I'm surprised — failed to deliver. While it's reassuring to hear that scientists are finally losing their infatuation with all the hype about genes as the final word on human nature, it's just as apparent that they're still a long way from a real understanding of why we do what we do. My search will continue.
    SOLOMON DIXON
    Redondo Beach, Calif.

    Having been adopted, I conclude from my experience that we get our behavior and personalities from our genes and our habits from the nurturing of others or our environment. My birth mother and my adoptive mother are as different as night and day, and seeing what each of them has passed on to me has been an enrichment and a joy.
    BETTY A. NORMAN
    Netcong, N.J.

    As a mother who dedicated her life to nurturing her children, I found the statement "Nature is designed for nurture" uplifting and reassuring. While parents' nurturing may not always yield the desired results in their children, it is a comforting thought that according to our latest understanding, the outcome would be a lot worse without a nurturing environment. Best of all, at 66 years young, I can claim to be still growing, this time with science backing me up.
    JULIANNA CSONGOR
    King of Prussia, Pa.

    Don't Be Driven by Fear

    I am truly frightened by the people described in "Goodbye, Soccer Mom. Hello, Security Mom" [NATION, June 2]. They have become so unreasonably petrified by the thought of another terrorist attack against the U.S. that they support whatever radical laws or actions our government takes in the name of protecting its citizens. Such an attitude poses a far more serious threat to this nation's health than any foreign entity.
    GREGORY KEENER
    Escondido, Calif.

    Blowing Smoke

    Thank you, Joe Klein, for speaking out on the Bush Administration's postwar failures and misinformation to which the American people have been subjected [IN THE ARENA, June 2]. Maybe there were good reasons for going into Iraq. It's too bad we weren't told what they were.
    TESSA FORBES
    Natick, Mass.

    Klein is desperate to destroy Bush's credibility on Iraq. The facts are simple: Saddam's regime was a festering sore within the Middle East, and no solution to the tensions in the region would arise until his dictatorship was toppled.
    RICHARD BRADY
    East Nantmeal, Pa.

    The Sum of Two Evils

    The despicable abuse of power by Saddam Hussein's sons Uday and Qusay [WORLD, June 2] was reason enough to put an end to the Iraqi regime.
    CHRIS KARGES
    Seattle

    Your account of the atrocious behavior of the Hussein brothers showed that they were more brutal and evil than I ever could have imagined. How this family could hold sway over a country of more than 20 million is hard to understand. The continuing pain that Uday experienced from the attempt on his life was well deserved. How this demonic family could have escaped retaliation for so long remains a mystery.
    BILL KRIEG
    Fairport, N.Y.

    I hope, for the sake of those who suffered under the two brothers, that they are punished for their crimes. Iraq's freedom will not be complete until Uday and Qusay are captured. For Iraqis, that day will truly be a day of celebration.
    MOHAMMED AL-HILLI
    Wembley, England

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