The chapter starts out by mentioning that a lot of aspects of our health are totally random, however, there are aspects that have a correlation to life events/personal features. For example, being born with a birth defect is not something that could’ve been in your control, but having access to medical care when you don’t feel well can help you uncover potential health problems.
The authors state that “Personality is not set in Stone” (page 5), which I find somewhat of a conflict with. Although I do believe our behavior as humans is due to a combination of nature vs. nurture, I believe that there are some aspects about our personalities/behaviors that are just inherent to who we are. As much as we believe that we can change people and the way they act just to improve their health, I think there will always be a need to stick to who you really are.
Nonetheless, I think it was very brave of the authors to look into the Terman case more deeply and try to find correlations, if any, between personality/sociological traits and one’s health. The fact that the study took eight decades to complete is incredible and takes a lot of time and dedication. I can’t wait to hear what they find out!