Autism Report is Misleading

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080717211651.htm
"Nature/Nurture Gene Link Sheds New Light on Autism"

This headline is an example of how sloppy reporting can result in a misleading report. The title and the article equate the word nurture with environmental influence. The terms are related, but non-identical. Nurture should only refer to that subset of environmental factors which are the direct result of human human interaction. In this case environmental influence is not necessarily
human in origin.

Here it is more likely that the environmental factors involved are chemical gradients within the prenatal environment, something of a far cry from the images of children playing with and learning from parents which are call forth when someone invokes the word nurture. The dichotomy between nature and nurture is not the dichotomy of pure genetic factors and chemical epigenetic factors, it is the dichotomy of pure biological causes with soft factors like psychology, treatment, education, etc.

Sean's picture

Two good reads to add on top

Two good reads to add on top of this:

Both by the good Dr. Steven Novella

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"Isn't it enough to see that a garden is beautiful without having to believe that there are fairies at the bottom of it too?" - Douglas Adams