James Clerk Maxwell was a researcher who opened a new paradigm with his electromagnetic theory, influencing generations of researchers. He was without a doubt a child prodigy. At an early age, he was solving geometric problems and writing explanations that intrigued academics. Just as he considered how charged particles interact with their s urrounding area, one might consider the interaction of the conditions of his inherent nature and the environment of his early childhood. Maxwell's life could make a good case study for the strength of the influences of heredity vis-a-vis environment as he had strong influences from both sources.

Maxwell was born into a distinguished family with notable accomplishments among his ancestors. He had an almost ideal childhood, living in the country in close warm association with his parents and relatives. Like William Thomson Kelvin, he experienced the death of his mother during his childhood, an experience...