Nature vs. Nurture

The role of genetics in athletic prowess

The Sports Gene by David Epstein

Are Michael Phelps and Serena Williams genetically predisposed to succeed athletically, or is their success purely a function of years of intense training? Is sprinter Usain Bolt the most naturally gifted athlete the world has ever seen, as his Web site contends, or did practice and community support contribute to his success? Are there genes for speed, strength and endurance, or can these traits be honed over time?

In The Sports Gene, David Epstein, a senior writer at Sports Illustrated, takes on the nature vs. nurture debate in the context of athletic ability. Epstein looks at the success stories of Olympic marathoners, high jumpers, professional baseball players and others, and examines studies about the effects of various factors on athletic development. The book covers variables such as eyesight, leg length and thickness, aerobic capacity, physical training and the use of human growth hormone.

Epstein also looks at training theories, such as the 10,000-hour rule popularized in Malcolm Gladwells Outliers, which holds that 10,000 hours of practice can make anyone an expert in a given field. He writes that there is some evidence to support this theory, but it doesnt tell the whole story. For example, Major League Baseball players spend thousands of hours honing their skills but Epstein found that on the whole, they also have exceptional eyesight.

Epstein points to data indicating that some people have the genetic potential to benefit from intense practice while others will make marginal but not stellar improvements, no matter how hard or how long they work. That is why two people can follow identical training plans and see drastically different results, he says.

So which is it: nature or nurture? Epstein concludes that one is useless without the other. Most athletic traits, he writes, are a braid of nature and nurture so intricately and thoroughly intertwined as to become a single vine.

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Nature or nurture? A new book looks at sports and genetics.

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