Question

How does Epstein develop his central idea that genetics plays an important role in athletic ability over the course this excerpt from The Sports Gene

Answer 1

The Sports Gene was written by David Epstein and published in 2013.

This book supports the idea that sports success has to do with both 'nature and nurture', that both genetics and training are highly influential, but also that each of them cannot bring what the other does.

The more a person practises, the better he/she will be. But up to a point. No one can achieve something that his/her body is not biologically or genetically prepared to do. This idea is in disagreement with other authors such as Anders Ericsson, who supported that training mattered more than innate talents and that could offset genetic inclinations.