Malleability

In my last post I wrote about how people are different and how I learned to just accept that fact. However, that doesn't mean that I am not fascinated by the differences in people. I am most certainly. It amuses me why people do what they do, why they think what they think and why they are the way they are. I guess a lot of it is their culture, upbringing. But also there is a big genetic portion - we are born this way. It is the usual nature vs nurture debate and I think the consensus is that both play a significant role. Also what I have realized (not sure if there is some research on this..) is that some brains are more malleable than others. So something in some people gives them more of an ability to change. A lot of it has to do with the desire to change, however the ability to change is equally important and I believe this ability is genetic i.e. you can't obtain it. So people who have a malleable brain and also the desire to change have the best chance of changing (not just in a better way, many change for the worse). So this gives nature a stronger hand in the whole nature vs nurture debate, since if one is born with a malleable brain (which is given by nature), then that child is more prone to be influenced by nurture (i.e. upbringing, parents, culture etc.). All this is just speculation on my part (I could be totally wrong!) and I have not even checked if there is indeed research in this area, but would be an interesting angle nevertheless. Perhaps we can even, crudely albeit, measure the malleability of someone's brain - that would also open up some interesting possibilities in development and learning.