A family full of similar talent is not a rare sight in our society. For example, the worldwide-known King of Pop, Michael Jackson, came from a family gifted with remarkable musical talent. Michael Jackson started his career with the Jackson Five with his brothers is just one of the many occurrences that happen when it comes to talent and family. Not just music, I have some acquaintances who appear to have similar interests that somehow managed to lead them to have the same job as their parents, namely being a doctor in a family full of doctors. This fact is indeed a big question mark if you notice. So, is there any correlation between talent and genetics that the family inherits to their descendants?
Psychologist Dean Keith Simonton argues that talent is a package of personal characteristics that accelerate the acquisition of expertise. In other words, talent is when someone has the shortcut to better faster out of a given amount of expertise. The traits of having a significant talent in individuals are known to be brought by their DNA. DNA itself is the hereditary material in humans and almost all other organisms--it can replicate--or make copies of itself. According to science, there's indeed a connection between someone's DNA and their talent as the DNA they inherit from their parents combines both parents' traits, abilities, and physical appearance. Therefore, it's common for us to hear the saying "born with talent" on so many occasions.
However, this inherited DNA doesn't determine someone's level of expertise, either better or worse from their parents. This is mainly because being an expert in a certain field requires a combination of both nature and nurture. Nature is what has been said before; talent that is inherited from your parents through DNA and nurture itself is a process of skill development that includes environmental stimulation. Imagine seeds in the soil. You know that there's a big possibility of growing them to be plantable trees with blooming flowers if you give them adequate care by watering and giving them the supplements needed. However, if the seeds are there to bloom, yet you're not giving them any action, do you expect them to grow? Of course, it won't! This theory works the same with genetic talent in each individual.
So, it is safe to say that DNA is an influential factor for someone to have a certain talent and an assessment that tells us if you will be able to or how easy it will be for you to develop talent. But to a certain extent, nurture and development are just as important because, without enough exercise, the inherited talent would be just there-untouched and unidentified.
