Genes, Talent, Deliberate Practice, and PJ Ladd

Disclaimer: This may seem tedious, but it is extremely relevant to the next post and connects to a very hardworking skateboarder.

Most people think of talent as something we're either born with or not. Most have the notion that our genes are a set of blueprints that determine who and what we will become. Under this old model, genes hold predetermined character traits that dominate our development. Under this model, WE HAVE NO CONTROL OVER WHO WE BECOME. External environmental factors only slightly explain our final product. This is known as the Genes + Environment Theory.

Fortunately, it turns out that talent is not something you're simply born with; it is something that you must achieve through extremely hard work. Under this relatively new understanding of talent, genes are not the only thing that determine who and what we become. We do not inherit traits based on our genes themselves. From the moment we're born, our external environment interacts with our genes to develop traits through the process of gene-environment interaction. This new model is known as Genes X Environment. Our cells contain DNA. Each of these DNA contain many thousands of genes. These genes in turn assemble amino acids into proteins that help to create cells. The cells are responsible for building muscle and other tissue like eyeball collagen. Our genes are constantly activated and deactivated by external stimulus(hence the environment), such as nutrition and our peers. Our day-to-day lives are responsible for our individual genetic makeups under this model. For protein construction to be enabled, our genes must be switched on, or activated. Interestingly, the same gene can produce different proteins in one's life, depending on the time it was activated and how it was activated. This means that under the model of Gene Environmental interaction as a dynamic duo, all of us are custom-made individuals based on our unique circumstances and interactions with the environment.

The concept of Genes x Environment determines our emotional state, health status, lifestyle, who our friends are, and even what our favorite ledge and flatground tricks are. Next Time: Genes X Environment is a crucial part of PJ Ladd's transformation into a world class skateboarder.

Source: The Genius in All of Us by David Shenk