The choices we make in life or the natural abilities given at birth?

I believe you should choose to do what you want rather than what others tell you is safe and you are good at.

This is too deep of a topic for a) water cooler chat, and b) a Monday morning. I'll say our choices.

I believe people are blank slates when they are born and most of their future identity comes down to how they are raised in their first 7 or 8 years or so. Because of this most people do not have much of a choice in who they become since the most critical part came when they weren't making conscious decisions for themselves.

Up until recently, I would have said our choices. After all, that is very appealing to our egos. However, I recently watched Predict My Future: The Science Of Us, a very mind-opening documentary on the Dunedin Longitudinal Study. Now I realize it's pretty much all written in our genes.

now we know

Sadly, his excitement with typos reveals all too much about who Algren is.

For once, I agree with Algren.

Like most deep questions of this nature, the answer is both, and a question like this cannot be simply boiled down to a one or the other kind of multiple choice.

Yeah, I'd say it's a combination of both. Just because you make a choice, doesn't mean that's the path that will suit you, depending on your genetics.

But I'd say choice plays a slightly larger role.

The answer is "both" but that doesn't mean it's 50/50.

All the choices in the world won't make a difference if you can't act on those choices.

Choosing to be the world's greatest singer if your voice sounds like gravel won't be easy. Wanting to be a leading man romantic actor if you're a short dumpy guy probably won't happen either. You have to make intelligent choices but based on your limitations. And often, those limitations are genetically set.

30% Choices / 70% Abilities

You see Zwacks, when a man loves a woman...

I'll second that.

Check out the DLS, it's eye-opening.

Batman?

Of the two choices (no pun intended), I'd say it's choices.

But I think our experiences have the most weight in making us who we are, how we see things, etc. Our choices are directly informed by our experiences.

But I think abilities has more weight in how others see us.

Mostly true.

Our experiences are significantly informed by our abilities.

By experiences, I mean things that happen to you. Which aren't usually dependent on your unique set of abilities until maybe later in life.

People with identifiable abilities are often given opportunities they might not have otherwise.

I'm not sure you can realistically disregard the interplay at work there.

You could just as easily say that you have to be given basic opportunity to develop any identifiable ability. Which is what we talk about wheb we talk about privilege.

The less you know someone, the more you evaluate them based on skills, because that's quantifiable. But once you're more familiar with someone (including yourself), the less that seems to matter. I know I think more about the choices I and others I've known have made as opposed to how talented we are at a sport or instrument or software.

So you focus more on the choices others make rather than the traits/characteristics they possess?

I'll say the latter is ultimately the determining factor that underlies the former.