20 Feb 2003 | hurley#1 said...

Nah, I don't buy it. I'm the youngest of four, and my sibs were all excellent in school and one brother was a star athlete. When I went through school, all I heard was "oh, you're xx's younger brother, we expect great things of you." I've always felt much more motivated to excel when it's not expected of me. I did fine in school, but probably would have done better if I hadn't resented everyone's assumption that I would be a model student.

20 Feb 2003 | alisha said...

hurley#1, your situation is unique because youre such a rebel. Id say rivalry has a lot to do with goals and motives. Ive noticed that people with siblings often have a problem with independence and feeling "alone". Whereas only children like myself, are happy when they have lots of space and freedom.

20 Feb 2003 | hurley#1 said...

Alisha, I think you're right. I also guess I'm unlike the typical youngest sibling because there was a big difference in age between myself and the others (6 years, 10 years, and 12 years between me and my other sibs), and I imagine I might have been more competitive if my sibs had been closer in age to me.

Still, though, I'm wary of facile psychological explanations, and this strikes me as one. Darwin may well have been born with an inquisitive, creative temperament; there's no need to invoke sibling rivalry to explain it. And as a lifelong naturalist myself (someone who studies nature and has a deep curiosity about how the natural world works), I suspect Darwin wasn't all that interested in competing for his parents' attention. I know that when I was a kid, I just wanted to be out in the woods looking at birds and collecting insects...I didn't much care whether my parents or anyone else paid attention to me!

21 Feb 2003 | Paperhead said...

Conversely, a lot of studies in recent years have shown that, on average, children without siblings tend to be smarter. They also tend to fill more leadership positions. Among others without siblings: Leonardo da Vinci, Albert Einstein, and er...Tiger Woods.

OFF TOPIC//
there was a link to this on that BBC page. Four million seems like an awful lot. Words cannot express my admiration for the scientific genius that came up with:

"People who claim to have been kidnapped by aliens have a tendency to believe in fantasies..."

21 Feb 2003 | jerry said...

This discussion brings Jane Elliot's Blue Eyes-Brown Eyes exercise to mind.

I grew up being the second youngest out of 7. I enjoy being alone and I have been told that I am a natural leader. I learned a lot from my older brothers (how to roll a joint, about sex, mechanics, cursing) waaaay before my "only-child" friends did. So, whose smarter now? ;)

25 Feb 2003 | Paperhead said...

i was merely pointing out that there are too many factors for a study to be conclusive and that given such an enormous range of factors, different studies will find different results . . . but congrats on the stereotypical competitive spirit type thing

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