Orchid Children

I just wanted to reccommend an article I read in the December 2009 issue of The Atlantic.  In my magazine the article by David Dobbs is called "Orchid Children" but in the online version it's called "The Science of Success" (not a very good title in my opinion).  The research with Rhesus monkeys is very interesting.  Some of it I'd read about before but some of it was new to me.  If you read it please share your thoughts!

http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200912/dobbs-orchid-gene

What strikes me is how American this article and research is.

Sorry, but I don't buy into stuff like this and couldn't care less about the 'science' behind 'success' because to me success is a subjective and relative thing.

What strikes me is how American this article and research is.

How do you mean?  The first study they described was done in Leiden.

How do you mean?  The first study they described was done in Leiden.

The tone of it strikes me as very American and how the research is construed.

If you read it please share your thoughts!

I really liked the article.  I especially found it encouraging that no matter what your genetic variant, the behavioral influence of the parents and society would be influential.

I do worry that we're becoming so deferential to genetic markers that people forget that our experiences are as important as our underlying genes.

Sorry, but I don't buy into stuff like this and couldn't care less about the 'science' behind 'success' because to me success is a subjective and relative thing.

Did you actually read the article?  To some degree I thought that it made your exact point.  That "success" is relative and subjective, that genetic traits the could be seen as "negative" or "unsuccessful" could actually propel you into greater success depending on your environment and socialization. 

Did you actually read the article?  To some degree I thought that it made your exact point.  That "success" is relative and subjective, that genetic traits the could be seen as "negative" or "unsuccessful" could actually propel you into greater success depending on your environment and socialization. 

Um, no, I just responded to the OP's request for opinions for the heck of it.

Just because someone doesn't agree, does not mean she or he did not read the material presented.

 

Ok folks, let's keep it nice please.

I thought the article was interesting. I thought I had come across the term Orchid children somewhere before but not sure. I liked the way the dandelion/orchid explanation. It did make a lot of sense. And I agree the insight on the Rhesus monkeys was extremely interesting.

Thanks for sharing!

I did like this particular insight:

The key to our success may be our weediness. And the key to our weediness may be the many ways in which our behavioral genes can vary.

that genetic traits the could be seen as "negative" or "unsuccessful" could actually propel you into greater success depending on your environment and socialization. 

That was encouraging.

I enjoyed reading this very intersting article. 
Thank you for sharing!

I'm glad some people found the article as interesting as I did.  WHW, I agree about the words "Science of Success".  That's why I thought the title change was unfortunate, because to me it didn't reflect the content of the article.

In addition to the things mentioned by AyouBob and UKUrs (the beauty of the orchid theory that the genes for our human frailties are also the key to our survival, and the importance of environment in development) I found this thought in the article intriguing:

"Complain all you want that it’s an increasingly ADHD world these days—but to judge by the spread of DRD4’s risk allele, it’s been an increasingly ADHD world for about 50,000 years."