Dr. Robert Plomin, a pioneer in behavioral genetics, discusses how genes impact behavior, clarifies common confusions in the field, and addresses criticisms. Topics include genetic influence on behavior, predispositions, parenting, relationships, psychiatric disorders, self-acceptance, and ethical considerations of gene editing.

Sam Harris speaks with Robert Plomin about the role that DNA plays in determining who we are. They discuss the birth of behavioral genetics, the taboo around studying the influence of genes on human psychology, controversies surrounding the topic of group differences, the first law of behavior genetics, heritability, nature and nurture, the mystery of non-shared environment, the way genes help determine a person's environment, epigenetics, the genetics of complex traits, dimensions vs disorders, the prospect of a GATTACA-like dystopia and genetic castes, heritability and equality of opportunity, the implications of genetics for parenting and education, DNA as a fortune-telling device, and other topics. If the Making Sense podcast logo in your player is BLACK, you can SUBSCRIBE to gain access to all full-length episodes at samharris.org/subscribe.

Robert Plomin, is a psychologist, geneticist and an author.Separating the influence of nature and nurture is something everyone considers. Robert is the 71st most cited psychologist of the 20th century and has run the largest and most clinically detailed twin and adoption studies in history to finally provide definitive answers to these fundamental questions.Expect to learn how much of who we are can be attributed to our environment and how much was predisposed by our genetics, why parenting doesn't make a difference, why the choice of school your child goes to only impacts 1% of their outcomes, whether penis size is heritable, if there is a gay gene or not and much more...Sponsors:Get 20% discount on Reebok’s entire range including the amazing Nano X1 at https://geni.us/modernwisdom (use code MW20)Get 10% discount on your first month from BetterHelp at https://betterhelp.com/modernwisdom (discount automatically applied)Extra Stuff:Buy Blueprint - https://amzn.to/3f2OYYkGet my free Ultimate Life Hacks List to 10x your daily productivity → https://chriswillx.com/lifehacks/To support me on Patreon (thank you): https://www.patreon.com/modernwisdom-Get in touch. Join the discussion with me and other like minded listeners in the episode comments on the MW YouTube Channel or message me...Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chriswillxTwitter: https://www.twitter.com/chriswillxYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/ModernWisdomPodcastEmail: https://www.chriswillx.com/contact Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices