by Rowan Hooper, Little, Brown
WHEN Matthew Rose was 17, a teacher suggested he become an opera singer. He was floundering at his first passions, swimming and golf, so he submitted to five years of vocal training. Rose now performs leading roles at some of the world’s major opera houses. And he knows why he succeeded: “Language skills, musical skills,” he says, recalling the hard work and dismissing genetics.
The singer appears in Rowan Hooper’s book Superhuman – and Hooper isn’t convinced by Rose’s explanations, but nor does he accept reductionist ideas that Rose’s ability lies in his DNA.
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In this excellent book, Hooper (91av‘s managing editor) seeks out the highest achievers in myriad fields and also the scientists studying human capability to reframe the old debate. “It’s never genes or environment,” he says, “it is always both things, together.”
Take chess. Grand masters’ obsessive practice seems to exemplify the so-called 10,000-hour rule that originated in work by psychologist Anders Ericsson. The “rule” claims expertise in any field can be gained by practising for this many hours. But cognitive measurements show chess savvy also correlates with IQ. As Hooper says, the genetic edge of good memory and pattern recognition are as pertinent as hours of toil.
“Empowerment comes out of acknowledging limitations and focusing on personal strengths”
None of this will surprise avid readers of popular science, where nature versus nurture is a common theme. What sets Hooper apart is his effort to relate the science to individual achievers and to seek their perspective. That and his enthusiasm to discover what this means for the future.
Hooper talks to Booker prizewinner Hilary Mantel and to polyglot Alexander Arguelles, who is proficient in 50 languages. As absorbing as these interviews are, their real significance is in revealing more about the gap Rose inadvertently hinted at – between how the extreme see themselves and how science sees them.
In some instances, the insights of the “superhuman” may suggest new research. In others, such as Rose’s paean to training, Hooper sees blind spots that may blinker society. “The unwillingness to accept a genetic influence in what we do could be ideological,” he says. “No one likes the idea that genes control our destiny.”
Hooper’s response is blunt. “Accept the evidence, and be empowered,” he says, arguing that empowerment comes out of acknowledging limitations and focusing on personal strengths.
Happily, Superhuman is more concerned with the open-ended story of the complex interplay of genes and environment, where unforeseen strengths may originate through unexpected means. Even training involves more than meets the eye, with genes strongly influencing the drive to practise. Rose may be wrong about his talent, but he is also right. If he tires of opera, he may yet have a golfing future.
More like this
Other books on the human condition
Frankenscience
by Kathryn Harkup, Bloomsbury
Two hundred years after Mary Shelley’s masterpiece was published, it is admired as both a literary classic and an evergreen primer on scientific ethics. Making the Monster by Kathryn Harkup brilliantly captures the science that inspired the story and made it so prescient. Though Shelley’s book is widely considered the first science fiction novel, Harkup shows its roots in 18th-century experiments with static electricity, including attempts to reanimate executed criminals.
Transforming humans
by Gavin Francis, Basic Books
As a family doctor, Gavin Francis has observed bodies at all stages, from delivering babies to being terminally ill. In Shapeshifters, he has been guided both by medical texts and Ovid’s Metamorphoses. Francis finds the transformations of the body during life as fabulous as those in the Roman poet’s fables, which describe statues brought to life and humans turned into streams.
Future imperfect
by Carme Torras, MIT Press
A 13-year-old girl is cryogenically preserved until doctors can cure her terminal illness. By the time she can be reanimated, humans are utterly dependent on robotics, sapping them of essential qualities including creativity and emotion. The girl’s new life and disruptive presence in this dystopian future are the subject of The Vestigial Heart. Written by roboticist Carme Torras and informed by her research, the novel is ethically astute without being didactic. Torras writes that her goal is to “imagine possible future scenarios and encourage debate”. The medium suits this well, and her heartfelt ambivalence about tech makes her a compelling novelist.
This article appeared in print under the headline “Extraordinary people”