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Luke Hobbs

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Looking for geneticists to answer a few questions :)

Hi,

Just wanting to know if there is any connection with a person's features and the type of personality they have. For example, I often find people are either very academic, or very athletic, but not both. In finer aspects, I see that certain career types share similar basic features and builds, as if a persons abilities are expressed directly in some underlying genetic feature.

Just curious :)

Luke

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    W. Ying 10+

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    Oct 14 2012: Please let layman me answer by common sense:
    Every person has the instinct of ULTRA-HIGH ACCURACY so that s/he can:
    (1) Distinguish any person from 7 billion people in the world. and
    (2) Perceive the ultra-fine differences of feature (verbal language or image language) influenced by the personality.

    Am I wrong?

  • Jon Ho

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    Sep 16 2012: Oh yes, absolutely!

    You humans have done genetic modifications on dogs for thousands of years, it should be fairly obvious! A few examples :

    Rottweilers - look intimidating and scary and have potential to do damage to someone, best as guard dog.
    Border Collie - best for herding sheeps.
    Beagle - hound dog, one of the sharpest nose in the world.
    Golden Retriever - good for well, retrieving stuff, heh.
    Greyhound - these guys are genetically built for speed with their streamlined form.
    Alaskan Malamute - built for stamina, these guys can go the distance.
    German Shepherd - good watchdog, will patrol its space relentlessly.

    • John Smith 30+

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      Sep 16 2012: There is a fair bit of training involved in those character traits as well: people believe a rottweiler is more aggressive than a beagle so they will raise it more aggressively and create a self-fulfilling prophecy. Dog breeds don't have such different character from birth, breeding has more to do with size and muscularity and last but not least: humans aren't bred that way.

      • Jon Ho

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        Sep 16 2012: Partly correct.

        Right about the dog parts, wrong about the humans part.

        Andean, Tibetan, and Ethiopian humans display several patterns of adaptation to high-altitude hypoxia. One of the peculiar personality the Tibetan's Sherpa exhibited is that they take walk much faster and in bursts punctuated with stops to catch their breath. This unique method of high altitude locomotion outruns the lowland humans that are walking at a normal pace.

        This gait works extremely well for them because they have evolved in such a way that they do not hyperventilate at high altitude. Take them down to sea level though, and you will see them hyperventilate, their gait being more a hindrance because they would be better off walking at a normal, steady plodding.

        And last but not the least: Humans living in space where zero gravity evolution over a period of several generations changes how a human look and act. Imagine : Generation Space, Hikkikomori jelly-human! ;)
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        Gerald O'brian 50+

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        Sep 17 2012: Dog breeding has EVERYTHING to do with personnality! That's how it began.
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    Elizabeth Gu 30+

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    Sep 16 2012: You might find it interesting to share your thoughts on

    http://www.ted.com/conversations/13729/does_personality_matter.html

    check that out :)
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    Madhavi Gavini

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    Sep 15 2012: A person's abilities are not entirely determined by genes.
    Genes do play a role, however ..the environment that the person is raised in /exposed to has a bigger impact.
    Human beings for example have constantly evolved and adapted to the changing environment over thousands of years.That is how evolution in all species works.

  • John Smith 30+

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    Sep 15 2012: "Just wanting to know if there is any connection with a person's features and the type of personality they have."

    Of course this connection exists, it's just not due to genetics. Your physical features affect the kind of childhood you will have and that affects your personality.
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    Krisztián Pintér 200+

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    TED Translator
    Sep 14 2012: i'm no expert, but i want to call your attention to
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Williams_syndrome
    a rare genetic condition that results in noticable but normal look, and also noticable but normal mental development. alas it also leads to health problems.
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    Gail . 50+

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    Sep 14 2012: Taller men are always given preferential treatment in hiring for high-level positions. if you live in a world that is fear-based, then this preference serves the company. If we lived in a culture that is not fear-based, then that preferential treatment would probably be given to those who are more wise than tall.
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