Blueprint - Robert Plomin

'Mind-blowing ... It is a hugely important book ... His story is crucial' Matt Ridley, The Times

One of the world's top behavioural geneticists argues that we need a radical rethink about what makes us who we are

The
blueprint for our individuality lies in the 1% of DNA that differs
between people. Our intellectual capacity, our introversion or
extraversion, our vulnerability to mental illness, even whether we are a
morning person - all of these aspects of our personality are profoundly
shaped by our inherited DNA differences.

In Blueprint,
Robert Plomin, a pioneer in the field of behavioural genetics, draws on a
lifetime's worth of research to make the case that DNA is the most
important factor shaping who we are. Our families, schools and the
environment around us are important, but they are not as influential as
our genes. This is why, he argues, teachers and parents should accept
children for who they are, rather than trying to mould them in certain
directions. Even the environments we choose and the signal events that
impact our lives, from divorce to addiction, are influenced by our
genetic predispositions. Now, thanks to the DNA revolution, it is
becoming possible to predict who we will become, at birth, from our DNA
alone. As Plomin shows us, these developments have sweeping implications
for how we think about parenting, education, and social mobility.

A game-changing book by a leader in the field, Blueprint shows how the DNA present in the single cell with which we all begin our lives can impact our behaviour as adults.