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'Older Fathers Have Geekier Sons' (bbc.com)
An anonymous reader shares a BBC article: Men who delay starting a family are more likely to have "geekier" sons, a study suggests. They were brighter, more focused and less bothered about fitting in -- according to the "Geek Index" devised by King's College London. The mother's age had no impact, and daughters seemed to be immune. One scientist said a trend for delayed parenthood might mean we were heading towards a "society of geniuses" able to solve the world's problems. The findings are rare good news in the science of delayed fatherhood. Repeated studies have shown that older sperm is more prone to genetic errors and children are more likely to develop autism and schizophrenia.
tired so the kids have to get smarter and play with themselves.
"Geekier dads could be taking longer to start a family and pass on geeky traits to their children"
Possibly, but I think another aspect could be the maturity of the father.
Guys in their 20s spend more time hanging out with other guys doing active social activities
Older guys are going more activities that are well structure and individual in nature.
A child is going to pick up on and emulate those things.
Shared activities also matter, an older father might spend more time deliberately training the child while a younger man might try to act as the child's playmate.
I stole this Sig
When do smart dads have kids? Later, when they're ready. When do autistic dads have kids? Later, when their successes outweigh their drawbacks, and they've learned to compensate. What sort of kids do dads have when they reproduce later? Smart. Autistic. Like their dads. Cuz genetics. Which is not to say that this is the explanation. It's just to say that the 'conclusions' drawn by this study (at least as summarized) are ... let's say speculative at best.