According To Kendra Cherry's What Is Nature Or Nurture?

Everyone begins “tabula rasa, which suggests that the mind begins as a blank slate,” according to psychology writer and expert Kendra Cherry in her article “What is Nature versus Nurture.” However if everyone starts on the same level, how does that explain geniuses? If everyone were born with the same potential talent, there would be no reason for one person to be better at something than another person. On the other hand, everything we can do can be explained as a result of inherent ability encoded into our very DNA. Anything we do not have a natural predisposition for is not something we would do. Either way, what develops people stems from the situational choices made by the individual and their ability to follow through with those consequences.
One child made the transition from the youngest boy in a caring family to a well-known, roguish outlaw. In Donna B. Ernst’s The Sundance Kid: The Life of Harry Alonzo Longabaugh, she relates how Longabaugh was influenced by travel from a young age because he grew up on a canal where new faces were an everyday occurrence (Ernst 9). By being around that atmosphere consistently in his early childhood, a spirit of adventure was fostered and only continued to grow. His choices would almost always lead to the road, or some new place that he could explore, no matter the side of the law. As long as he could live how he felt he would be able to, his actions reflected his choice in either lifestyle. It is a classic case of monkey see, monkey do - what is learned at an early age is what will be done in a later age. Another look at the Romani lifestyle reveals that when their gypsy ancestors chose to live in hiding, the shadows gradually became their ‘home’, someplace they became reluctant to leave due to ongoing persecutions. In her 2012 book, Oksana Marafioti revealed that she was of Roma gypsy descent and was subjected to unwanted threats because of her heritage. She later “told her oldest son to be careful about letting people know his Romani roots,” reverting to the quiet, transparent lifestyle that had guarded her and her people for so long (Strochlic). Any deviation from standard behaviors may have exposed the Romani to relentless oppression once again, only solidifying the necessity to remain in a lifestyle that required minimal action. However, not all actions have such a small influence. In regards to Harry Longabaugh, not only did his environment accentuate his ruthless way of life, but also some natural talent for his outlaw activities impacted his actions. On one occasion, Longabaugh “picked the locks of his shackles, slipped out of his handcuffs, and jumped off the moving train”