Parents dont matter?

[Shawnee123]

There was a wonderful episode of Nova, called "The Secret of the Wild Child." It was about "Genie" a girl who was kept in isolation until she was found at 13. She couldn't talk. Scientists, though drawn to her, also saw an opportunity to test nature vs. nurture. It is a wonderful show, but everything was inconclusive because they could not determine whether Genie was born mentally retarded, or is her retardation was a result of her total isolation. There are very few cases of total isolation, so balance of nature vs nurture is hard to discern. I do believe, like some of you, that it's a combination.

It's a mesmerizing story. The girl draws you in. I wonder what ever happened to her.

Transcript here.

[Aliantha]

Originally Posted by Shawnee123

There was a wonderful episode of Nova, called "The Secret of the Wild Child." It was about "Genie" a girl who was kept in isolation until she was found at 13. She couldn't talk. Scientists, though drawn to her, also saw an opportunity to test nature vs. nurture. It is a wonderful show, but everything was inconclusive because they could not determine whether Genie was born mentally retarded, or is her retardation was a result of her total isolation. There are very few cases of total isolation, so balance of nature vs nurture is hard to discern. I do believe, like some of you, that it's a combination.

It's a mesmerizing story. The girl draws you in. I wonder what ever happened to her.

Transcript here.

She ended up being institutionalized. There was also a huge controversy between two of the scientists involved in her care. It was something about who had the right to care for her, and then one of them died (natural causes), and the other found she was too difficult to care for.

It's a heart wrenching story. We studied her at Uni.