h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

What exactly do you mean by that Dmitri? I can accept that biological aspects determine destiny to a degree. For instance: biology decrees that you are mortal and therefore you are destined to die. Biology roughly determines how tall you will be ... you can't overrule this and will yourself to be 10 ft tall. And so on. But at the same time, biology is more a set of 'potentials' the ultimate manifestation of which would depend on other variables. The debate about nature/nurture keeps going on when as far as I'm concerned we already have enough info to see that what we are actually depends on three factors: Nature, Nurture, and the X-factor ... related to the own will, idiosyncratic (and sometimes inexplicable) interests/desires/attitudes/likes/dislikes/obsessions/gifts. The interplay between those three factors over an individual's life history creates the actual from the potential, and is rich, full-spectrum colour, 3D, and complex beyond calculation.

In 'Archangel', a man is the biological son of Joseph Stalin. He grows up in the woods and becomes a mass killer. I thought that was bogus.

I see. But he could have turned out that way for non-biological reasons. But I haven't read the book ... I'll see if I can find it and tell you my opinion of it if I do!

You do that. I never made it all the way through that book, so I was referring to the miniseries version from the BBC. Like I said, beautifully filmed, but I found the reasoning shallow.