Innate: How the Wiring of Our Brains Shapes Who We Are

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Review ------ "One of Publishers Weekly's Best Books of 2018" "One of Forbes' Must-Read Brain Books of 2018" "A powerful antidote to genetic determinism."---Barb Kiser, Nature "A lucid, up-to-the-minute account of the human mind. . . . In considering the social, ethical, and philosophical implications of the accumulation of scientific discoveries, Mitchell changes the paradigm of what truly defines human nature."---Tiffany Jeung, Inverse "Innate is the best guide to the intersection of neuroscience, psychology, and genetics that I’ve found in recent years. . . . If there’s any question you have about how our brains make us who we are, chances are you’ll find an enlightening answer in Innate."---Carl Zimmer, Publishers Weekly "A good read for anyone at any age interested in how we get to be who we are. . . . Let us get books like Innate into the hands and minds of students as early as possible so that informed public discussion of ethical, social, and political issues surrounding genetic knowledge keeps pace with the inexorable growth of that knowledge."---Richard Haier, Quillette "An engaging science book."---Anthony King, Irish Times “Nature versus nurture is a centuries’ old distinction, but neuroscience and genetics are taking us to a new level of sophistication in understanding it. We are going beyond the realization that nature and nurture are inextricable, and are now gaining ins about what nature contributes and how it makes nurture possible. Mitchell’s book is a new landmark in this debate, with clear and substantive explanations of the new light that biology is shedding on an old question.”―Steven Pinker, Johnstone Professor of Psychology, Harvard University, and author of The Blank Slate and Enlightenment Now “What makes you you? Are there genes for intelligence or sexuality? How much is your personality determined by genes and how much by environment? In Innate, leading geneticist Kevin Mitchell takes us on a fascinating journey into the science of nature and nurture, in as well as in neurodevelopmental conditions such as autism and schizophrenia. It is a captivating read, and relevant to all of us.”―Sarah-Jayne Blakemore, author of Inventing Ourselves: The Secret Life of the Teenage Brain "What makes people differ from one another, and how much does biology have to do with it? Kevin Mitchell bravely wades into some of the most politically fraught questions in science and delivers a clear, level-headed, up-to-the-minute account of what we do and don’t know."―Gary Marcus, author of Guitar Zero and The Birth of the Mind Read more ( javascript:void(0) ) About the Author ---------------- Kevin J. Mitchell is associate professor at the Smurfit Institute of Genetics and the Institute of Neuroscience at Trinity College Dublin. He contributed to The Future of the Brain: Essays by the World’s Leading Neuroscientists (Princeton) and runs a popular blog, Wiring the Brain. He lives in Portmarnock, Ireland. Read more ( javascript:void(0) )