David Brooks does behavior

Nature or nurture? Hard wired or chemical? Genetics, environment, chemistry, or can we blame it all on our parents? My sisters and I are very different, and I wonder why.

New York Times columnist David Brooks blogs about how we think and behave, and some ideas about why, and things are not as simple as they seem. No kidding. But this really made me think, made me want to dig deeper. To understand mean people, those who lack the ability to empathize. The people who cause pain in my life. The people who bring joy, love and understanding, the treasures in our lives.

He has a new book out. Shameless plug. And he blogged today about something called edge.org, a really cool science site that looks like it could keep me fascinated for hours trying to answer these questions, or at least find out what's the latest thinking. Altho I expect to get distracted...

I am thinking more because I'm reading his blog. First, he blogs every day. If you blog, if you write, you know being brilliant every day is hard work. Most mortals can't do it. And he's not fluffy, he blogs about serious stuff. If you read him in the Times or watch him on The PBS News hour you know he has a dry sense of humor that peeks out even in the most humorless of times. He's on my list of people I'd most like to have dinner with. Who's on your list?

I'm off to read more on edge.com. See you there?