Nature Vs. Nurture

The final mystery in this list of unexplained mysteries of the brain goes to the question "how does brain function?". The "nature vs. nurture" dispute, which focuses on whether people are primarily products of the environment or whether biology and genetics ultimately determine every aspect of your lives, has been going on for a while. In general, people tend to agree that both nature and nurture play significant roles and that it is impossible to separate the effects of the two fully. This is known as the middle viewpoint.

But growing evidence over the past few years indicates that nature may have a considerably greater influence than environmental variables on how the brains work. According to one study, genetic variations can explain up to 49% of all qualities, including IQ, mental disease, physical health, and personality. Environmental influences are as important because they account for the other half, even though it was discovered that their impact was essentially random.