We instinctively know some things, although group interactions and environmental factors may modify this knowledge. For example, as an extension of the mother-infant bond, we learn kinship preferences, recognition of specific individuals, social communication, and long term infant care. Some scientific studies support this view. For example, neurologist Oliver Sacks 16 befriended a young boy named Stephen, an autistic savant who was capable of memorizing complex scenery at a glance and retaining the information for long periods of time. From an early age he appeared to have little need for nurture - human or otherwise.
Nurture is more influential than nature.
Leading a field of neurobiologists, who explore how the human brain learns about the world, Nobel Laureate Gerald Edelman hypothesizes that with repeated experiences, we develop and reinforce anatomically based concept maps. These concept maps subsequently modify how sensory information is processed and organized 3 . The law of nature, rather than individual preferences, determines what actions are right. The human mind need only possess the capacity for reasoned thought and the ability to communicate. In a series of elegantly designed experiments, child psychologist Jean Piaget 1 proposed that children pass through developmental stages where one stage builds on an earlier stage through assimilation and accommodation to the real world.