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Firstborn Get the Brains

Posted by Zonk on from the as-an-eldest-sibling-i-find-this-research-quite-accurate dept.

Dekortage writes "Eldest children have higher IQs than their siblings, according to a recent study by Norwegian researchers. The study focused on men, particularly 'on teasing out the biological effects of birth order from the effects of social status,' but indicates that the senior boy in a family (either by being firstborn, or if an elder brother died) has an average IQ two or three points higher than younger brothers. As noted in the New York Times coverage, 'Experts say it can be a tipping point for some people — the difference between a high B average and a low A, for instance... that could mean the difference between admission to an elite private college and a less exclusive public one.'"

34 of 467 comments (clear)

  1. Man, little brothers really have it bad... by illeism · · Score: 5, Funny
    Zonk!!!! - "as-an-eldest-sibling-i-find-this-research-quite-a ccurate" - as the defender of little brother everywhere that's NOT NICE!!!

    ...the senior boy in a family... has an average IQ two or three points higher than younger brothers... Experts say it can be a tipping point for some people Well, that explains why I'm a network admin instead of the CIO.
    I also wonder if being a middle child has any effect on IQ...
    I wonder if I will get those extra IQ points if I eat his brains...
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    1. Re:Man, little brothers really have it bad... by kalirion · · Score: 5, Funny

      I also wonder if being a middle child has any effect on IQ...

      Dunno about IQ (other than it being lower than firstborn's) but I recall a study showing that if you have an older and a younger brother you are more likely to be gay...

    2. Re:Man, little brothers really have it bad... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny
      Q:

      I wonder if I will get those extra IQ points if I eat his brains...

      A:
      Well, dear illeism, RTFA!

      ... the senior boy in a family (either by being firstborn, or if an elder brother died) has an average IQ two or three points higher...
    3. Re:Man, little brothers really have it bad... by Hoi+Polloi · · Score: 3, Funny

      Duhhhh, I have to have my older brother read this article to me. Me not read good.

      --
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    4. Re:Man, little brothers really have it bad... by spun · · Score: 2, Funny

      I've heard it said that the eldest child gets the brains, the middle child gets the sneakiness, and the youngest child gets the cuteness. Are you particularly sneaky? Maybe very good at hiding things, or finding them? I had an SO who was a middle child, and damn was she sneaky. "Honey, where the hell are the condoms?" "I don't know, lets just go to bed..."

      --
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    5. Re:Man, little brothers really have it bad... by elrous0 · · Score: 3, Funny
      Speaking as a middle child, I'm glad that firstborns get all the brains.

      The zombies will come after them first.

      --
      SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
    6. Re:Man, little brothers really have it bad... by Jarjarthejedi · · Score: 5, Funny

      Only on /. is a post joking about killing your older brother to become more intelligent modded informative...

      --
      There are two kinds of fool One says 'This is old therefore good' Another says 'This is new therefore better'- Dean Ing
  2. Wow man by spellraiser · · Score: 5, Funny

    Firstborn Get the Brains would be an awesome name for a zombie movie!

    (Pardon my stupid ramblings - I'm not an eldest son, you see)

    --
    I hear there's rumors on the Slashdots
    1. Re:Wow man by LordEd · · Score: 2, Funny

      Of course the firstborn gets the brains. First to die, first to rise from the dead, after all.

      Braaaainnssss are first come, first serve.

  3. Re:Which study do you believe? by spellraiser · · Score: 4, Funny

    Well, I have some very reliable evidence that the seventh son is the most powerful, but only if it's a seventh son of a seventh son.

    --
    I hear there's rumors on the Slashdots
  4. Re:Which study do you believe? by altoz · · Score: 4, Funny

    Yea, but Peter took over the world while Ender only saved it.

  5. Re:how about daughters? by everphilski · · Score: 2, Funny

    TheLink, women can't go to college

    (Just kidding. Until last fall my wife had a higher level of education than I did)

  6. But.. but... by dmayle · · Score: 5, Funny

    but... that can't be true, I'm not the first born in my family, and my older sister... frist post!!! GNAA!!! In Soviet Russia...

    Oh wait, ok, I guess I can kind of see their point...

  7. Re:Which study do you believe? by bronzey214 · · Score: 2, Funny

    Some of us have to finish reading it, you insensitive clod!

  8. Insesuhtive Claud! by MyLongNickName · · Score: 5, Funny

    I wuz born sevunteenth you insensuhtive Claud!

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  9. Evolution? by rajats · · Score: 2, Funny

    So isn't this theory anti-evolution? The younger children are less smarter than the oldest one.

    1. Re:Evolution? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      Only if you come from a family where your brother is also your father.

  10. ..but second borns get the girls :-) by WarwickRyan · · Score: 5, Funny

    So you can probably tell that I'm a firstborn, otherwise I'd be 'doing' something interesting instead of posting on /.

  11. Re:Girls by niceone · · Score: 4, Funny

    If there is a difference between us it's slight. I'd wager that would hold true for most girl siblings regardless of pecking order.

    Hmm, my wife has a science PhD and her sister is a mor... um, is more talented in non-academic areas.

    --
    ccalam - acoustic versions of new songs.
  12. Re:Ugh IQ... by heinousjay · · Score: 2, Funny

    So you're the youngest, eh? Sorry dude, better luck next reincarnation.

    --
    Slashdot - where whining about luck is the new way to make the world you want.
  13. Re:Girls by D-Cypell · · Score: 3, Funny

    Hmm, my wife has a science PhD and her sister is a mor... um, is more talented in non-academic areas. ....tell me more!

  14. Re:Girls by niceone · · Score: 3, Funny

    I knew I shouldn't have started this.

    --
    ccalam - acoustic versions of new songs.
  15. Re:how about daughters? by andrewd18 · · Score: 5, Funny

    TheLink, women can't go to college
    So that means my girlfriend is... ... ... oh shit.
  16. Re:the teacher by coren2000 · · Score: 3, Funny

    Thats because you didn't ask you ungrateful whelp.

    I think your older brother should give you some more schooling!

  17. Re:IQ != Intelligence by Lord+Ender · · Score: 3, Funny

    It sounds like you think everyone is equally intelligent. That shows how smart you are.

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  18. Re:2 or 3 points? by Furry+Ice · · Score: 2, Funny

    Standard error for this test? That would be file descriptor 2.

  19. Re:Which study do you believe? by spellraiser · · Score: 4, Funny

    Only on Discworld. On Discworld, cubes are the powerful numbers. On Earth it's the primes.

    --
    I hear there's rumors on the Slashdots
  20. Firstborn Gets the Brains by AeroIllini · · Score: 3, Funny

    I'm a firstborn zombie.

    Braaaaaaaaiiiiiiiiiinnnnnssss....

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  21. This doesn't always work by Green+Light · · Score: 3, Funny

    Neither of my two older brothers are as smart as I am.

    --
    "Send an Instant Karma to me" - Yes
    1. Re:This doesn't always work by 808140 · · Score: 5, Funny

      Neither of my two older brothers is as smart as I am.

      Thank you, please drive through.

  22. Re:2 or 3 points? by Joebert · · Score: 4, Funny

    A member of Mensa & I were standing near the edge of the Grand Canyon admiring the view. Both of us were thirsty, he reasoned that since he was the smart one, I should be the one to go get some drinks so he could continue pondering over the view.

    So I pushed him over the edge.

    I still had to fetch a drink, but I felt better about doing it.

    --
    Wanna fight ? Bend over, stick your head up your ass, and fight for air.
  23. Re:Methinks the data has a few outliers by cmorgan47 · · Score: 2, Funny

    who knows...maybe jeb is a complete dumbass

    --
    no i have not shot my gun in the air and gone 'Ahh!'
  24. I Can explain the whole thing in 4 words. by einnar2000 · · Score: 5, Funny

    ecklesweb : And what is the standard error on the particular IQ test they used? Second son.

    Daniel Dvorkin : What you're talking about is standard deviation, not standard error. SE = SD/sqrt(n), and given that in this case SD = 15 (by definition of IQ) and n = 241310, we have a standard error approaching 0. It's a little more complicated than that, of course, since the "n" here has to be applied to each group separately; for the sake of argument, let's assume the sample was equally divided between first-, second-, and third-borns, that means about 80000 in each group, which means the SE is about 0.053. This is plenty to detect the kind of differences they're talking about. First son.
  25. Re:2 or 3 points? by Bastard+of+Subhumani · · Score: 3, Funny

    If you were smart and a geek, you'd recognise a unix joke when you see it.

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