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LESSON 1 · The DNA Blueprint

The Old Debate

For centuries, thinkers argued whether who we become springs from our genes or our surroundings. Francis Galton popularized the phrase nature versus nurture, certain that talent was simply inherited.

Science has since settled it: the answer is always both. Genes and environment work together so tightly that pulling them apart is like asking whether a rectangle's area comes from its length or its width. Neither makes sense without the other.