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The cover of Blueprint

Blueprint

Robert Plomin, 2018

See what twin, adoption and DNA research really show about why people differ, and learn to read a polygenic score as a probability about groups, never a verdict about you.

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11 parts, about 29 minutes to read.

Why read it

  • Plomin argues that inherited DNA differences explain about half of psychological differences, while family and school explain far less
  • Changes how you read links between parenting and outcomes, since much of that correlation turns out to be genetic
  • Draws on twin, adoption and polygenic studies, and separates the science from his own values and speculation

Who it is for

  • Parents anxious about getting every choice right
  • Educators judging what schools can and cannot change
  • Readers wanting DNA literacy before genetic tests spread

What the summary covers

  1. A £100 Fortune Teller and the One Per Cent2 min
  2. What Heritability Does and Does Not Mean2 min
  3. Two Experiments: Adoption and Twins3 min
  4. The Nature of Nurture3 min
  5. Growing Into Our Genes3 min
  6. Abnormal Is Normal: Dimensions, Not Disorders2 min
  7. Parents Matter, Schools Matter, and Neither Makes a Difference4 min
  8. Heritability as an Index of Equal Opportunity2 min
  9. Gold Dust: Thousands of Tiny Effects3 min
  10. Strong for Groups, Loose for Individuals2 min
  11. Where the Science Stops and the Author Begins3 min

Recommended by

  • Matt RidleyAuthor of The Rational Optimist
    Plomin's writing combines passion with reason (and passion for reason) so fluently that it is hard to believe this is his first book for popular consumption, after more than 800 scientific publications.

About the author

  • Robert PlominPsychologist and geneticist, research professor at King's College London
    • Born 20 February 1948
    • BA in psychology from DePaul University in 1970 and PhD from the University of Texas at Austin in 1974
    • King's College London research professor since 1994
    • More than 800 scientific papers; author of the best selling textbook in his field; 2012 European Research Council Advanced Investigator Award
    • Youngest president of the international Behaviour Genetics Association

Read it alongside

  • Goes deeperBrain Energy

    Plomin finds genetic risks shared across psychiatric diagnoses. Palmer proposes that disrupted metabolism could produce different symptoms through different cells and brain networks, offering a possible common mechanism that still needs testing.

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