Yavanna, sorry if I was unclear. I didn't mean that Gandalf was talking about genetics himself, but that (as you said) he was recognizing the traits of Numenor in Faramir. I agree with Morwen, though, that Denethor *did* want the Ring for himself, as having Numenorean blood didn't protect against desire for the Ring.
Morwen, I don't feel that we can tell how much of Boromir's personality came from nature vs. nurture. Both interacted to produce him and we can't tell which was which unless we clone him and raise the clone in Rivendell or something for comparison.
Lyra and Morchaint, thanks for reminding us about Finduilas's heritage. If she were a (Ww) as well as Denethor, their offspring would have had a 3/4 chance of being the "insightful," Faramir-type (WW, Ww, wW) and a 1/4 chance of being Boromir (ww). Of course, if Faramir were (WW), then all of his offspring with Eowyn would be "insightful," but I'm falling prey to my own oversimplified model, so I'll stop there.
-Lily
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"But nay: the praise of the praiseworthy is above all rewards." - Faramir
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