Can Genes Cause Because We Know They Cause?

Image attribution: Riin Kõiv

This is a post by Riin Kõiv (University of Barcelona).

Imagine being told that personality, performance in math, substance addiction, or excess body weight has genetic causes. For many, this information plants a sense of inevitability — as if their personality, their math performance, or their body weight were in some sense “determined,” beyond their own control.