Thinking Out Loud, Volume CCCX

Other than the book reports you had to do in school, have you ever sat down and began writing about something you know very little about? That's what I'm about to do. I'm going to expound on the differences between genetics and learned behavior. Since my knowledge of this topic is so extremely limited, chances are I will raise more questions than answers. As a matter of fact, I know so little about this subject that even though I've already sat down and started typing, I still don't know what I'm going to say. Actually, it's my fingers that are doing the typing, so let's see if they have any words of wisdom for us today.

I've often been told, especially by aunts and uncles, that I look and act just like my dad, except for the fact that he had red hair in his younger days. The looks are genetic; there's no question about that. But what about my actions? Do I act like him because I saw him act that way, or do I act like him because of inherited genetic traits? That could go either way. Although Dad would not be considered an accomplished singer and musician, he had more ability in that area than the average Joe. The same can be said for my siblings and me, as well as for most of my cousins on the Davidson side. Did we get that because we were brought up in that environment, or would we have that ability even if we had been adopted and raised in a "non-musical" family? Dad had a special talent for making people laugh, and so do my siblings and my cousins? Is that something we learned from being reared in that type of atmosphere, or does it just come natural?

Two of the most talented quarterbacks in the National Football League are brothers...Peyton and Eli Manning. Well, it just so happens that their dad, Archie Manning, was also a great quarterback. I firmly believe that those two brothers have something in their genes, passed down from their father, that gives them a natural ability that's absent in the average kid, yet it could've remained dormant had they not had a loving dad who carefully helped them to develop that genetic advantage and transform it into real talent. It makes me wonder how many people I know who perhaps lost a parent at an early age, and with that loss, they also lost the one person in life that could help them nurture some genetic advantages that are not there in the average person.

If you are an adopted child or an adoptive parent, you are probably a bit more of an expert on this subject than I am, since you've seen some traits in the adopted child that are not present in the parents. Also, I could name some traits my parents had that I did not inherit, as well as some characteristics I have that they did not have. I've heard it said that every individual has some special talents....everyone is good at something, and every parent should look for what it is in each of his or her children.

I've always been intrigued by this topic, although, like I said earlier, I don't really know that much about it, and since my knowledge is so limited, I won't be opening the floor for questions. I've told you more than I know already.

Preston