← Autodidact Archive · Original Dissent · Wayland
Thread ID: 8124 | Posts: 3 | Started: 2003-07-15
2003-07-15 05:09 | User Profile
[url=http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0679758763/qid=1058244406/sr=2-1/ref=sr_2_1/103-6322276-8472653]Born to Rebel: Birth Order, Family Dynamics, and Creative Lives[/url] by Frank J. Sulloway
"This groundbreaking book takes on the influence of birth order in personalities and offers some surprising conclusions. Frank J. Sulloway, a researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has undertaken the first comprehensive study of birth order in determining personality and social outlook. He produces overwhelming evidence that, because of the evolutionary hierarchy in families, first-born children are more likely to be conformists while the later-borns tend to be more creative and more likely to reject the status quo. He documents just how different siblings are from each another--a person tends to have more in common with any randomly chosen person of their own age than with a sibling--and explains why sibling differences occur. The book offers new insights into the determining factors of who we are and who our children will be, and it is unlike any research yet published."
There are some good reader reviews on the Amazon.com page. This is the best book I've read in this field and reading it changed the way I see people. Highly recommended.
2003-07-15 06:24 | User Profile
I think there is a good bit of general validity in the birth-order personality types. Not only because I was the baby of my family, but also seeing it played out anew in my own children. The main conclusion I draw is that I thank God I had my daughter first. I make every effort to be as fair and consistent as possible, but as a father I have to be honest and say that when I envision my kids as teenagers, I could tolerate some rebelliousness in my boys much more than I could with my girl. I tell my wife that our daughter can start dating after she is married. :) I'm sure some of you Dads know what I'm talking about.
2003-07-15 17:36 | User Profile
**I make every effort to be as fair and consistent as possible, but as a father I have to be honest and say that when I envision my kids as teenagers, I could tolerate some rebelliousness in my boys much more than I could with my girl. I tell my wife that our daughter can start dating after she is married. I'm sure some of you Dads know what I'm talking about. **
I'm not a father(at least not yet), but I understand what you mean. I've seen how much teenage girls can be pains in the ass, which why I seriously hope I have sons.