January 10, 2026
From feral to forum frenzy
A Child in the State of Nature
Internet goes feral over nature vs nurture in the Wild Boy reissue
TLDR: NYRB Classics reissues Roger Shattuck’s book on the Wild Boy of Aveyron, reviving the centuries-old nature vs nurture debate. Commenters clash over ethics, historical context, and modern parallels, mixing sharp critiques with potato-and-no-pants memes, proving the fight over how we shape humans is still raging.
NYRB Classics just reissued Roger Shattuck’s “The Forbidden Experiment,” and the comments went full campfire debate. Fans of history cheered Mitchell Abidor’s review for resurfacing Victor of Aveyron, the feral child who met Dr. Itard’s big question: are we born this way, or molded by life? Wikipedia links flew as threads split into Team Nature and Team Nurture, with a fiery middle accusing both of missing the point: ethics.
One camp called Itard’s 1800s training a “human A/B test,” while defenders said he was a doctor trying to help within his time. Some speculated modern lenses—autism, trauma, neglect—others warned against hindsight diagnosis. The wild boy’s love of potatoes and hatred of clothes birthed instant memes: “Team Potatoes vs Team Pants” and “Big Nature vs Big Nurture.” A few cynics roasted the site’s donation pitch (“matching funds while discussing matching socks”) and compared the boy’s treatment to today’s algorithmic parenting—kids trained by feeds instead of forests.
The spiciest hot take? That the “forbidden experiment” never ended; we just moved it online. Meanwhile, book club folks said this reissue is a gateway to talk compassion, not control. Either way, the comments are feral—and weirdly tender—much like their subject. Reader fascination is real.
Key Points
- •NYRB Classics reissued Roger Shattuck’s 1980 book The Forbidden Experiment in 2025.
- •The Wild Boy of Aveyron appeared in Saint-Sernin on January 9, 1800 (19 Nivôse, Year VIII).
- •Physician Jean-Marc Gaspard Itard studied the boy to explore nature versus nurture in human development.
- •Early reports mischaracterized the boy as deaf; he was mute but not deaf, with minimal verbal comprehension.
- •Pierre-Joseph Bonnaterre documented the boy’s behavior, noting limited socialization, a focus on food, and time spent in orphanage with little progress.