Emil O W Kirkegaard

Yes. Raw ability enough. I was a poor kid in rural Wisconsin. Few books in apartment (all fiction); single mom read Cosmo. Public library changed my life. Read 1000s of books from 3rd through 9th grade and ended up a National Merit Scholar, & attending two elite universities.

As they say, genius finds a way.

Please can you all read this Tweetorial from one of our best geneticists? Heritability doesn't mean what you think it means. It's admirable that you achieved so much, but it doesn't mean "genius always finds a way".https://twitter.com/ProfSimonFisher/status/986923915481178113?s=19 …

My tweet didn't have "always". I don't know why you link me to that. None of this is new to me.

Because you cite heritability estimates as evidence for lack of environmental effect on an individual's behaviour. The tweetorial explains why its a category error. Great if you already know this - most people don't. Sorry if I misunderstood your point ;)

Sounds like more word games.

No. Crucial to grasp & communicate the key difference. Otherwise some will (and do) use high HEs as excuse not to spend money on education & public health. We scientists have to be mindful of how our work can be misinterpreted by policy makers.

Environment/nurture is probably more impactful in skills you usually have to start early to be great at (e.g., piano playing).

Sounds like trying to extrapolate indirectly from extreme outliers (piano prodigies). I would expect piano ability to be highly heritable if measured well.