his own destiny. Could he have tried to address the more positive aspects of his personality to help him choose another path? The psychologist apparently only used a standardized test to obtain an IQ score. Did this allow him to draw the right conclusion that my brother was bored in school and therefore misdirected his energy in an adverse form of behavior? .
It may be that my brother's behavior is genetic, but the fact that my brother and I turned out to be so different makes that argument difficult to support. The reasons are more likely environmental, but the fact that we grew up in the same environment for a large part of our lives, also works against that theory. In thinking about environmental causes, I can see some subtle differences, which may have influenced his behavior in his teen years. I was married and had a child at an early age and was not at home, therefore, he was the only child but had to compete with the "first grandson". He was also compared to myself, as I was successful in school and never in trouble. Was his behavior an act of rebellion against "the good child " that got out of hand? Was there peer pressure and influences in his circle of friends that made him develop into the adult he is today?.
I wish that when he had that visit many years ago that the psychologist had used an eclectic approach, instead of one IQ test, to try and find out exactly why my brother was acting the way he did. That approach branded him an intelligent child bored with school. It is my opinion that in this case, environment was the main influencing factors on his behavior. Also I believe that had there been a more thorough attempt to diagnose and address the environmental factors, my brother's behavior could have been modified to remove or control its more negative characteristics. .
The question of genetic and environmental influences on a person's behavior sparked my interest after the lecture and discussion about the terrorist attacks on September 11th.
Pablo PicassoI have researched into Pablo Picasso, and have found one of his linoleum cuts. The linoleum cut is called 'Still Life under a Lamp' (1962) it is the most brilliant example of Picasso's one-block linoleum cuts. It represents well, too, highly decorative turn his vision took in his last d...