effect of your birth order in how likely you are to be reading this!
 

I just read a very interesting article from Time magazine which examined how birth order affects how we turn out.

The oldest sibling is supposedly more conscientious and concerned with meeting expectations and therefore more likely to hold a profesional position

The middle siblings may take longer to choose a career than other siblings and may make opposite life choices to the oldest sibling.

Then this is the interesting bit, the younger siblings are often more prone to risk taking, likely to be artists, adventurers, entrepeneurs, or presumably... poker players.

I know that I fit the profile and I think it'd be interesting to start a survey here and see if the results correlate, so if you're interested please post your birth order here.

I'm 3rd out of 4

Re: effect of your birth order in how likely you are to be reading this!
 

2nd of 3. However, the other 2 are female and I am male. Does that affect your model?

Re: effect of your birth order in how likely you are to be reading thi
 

I've read similar things. It is true but just remember it is statistics, the force of birth order is not that powerful. individual differences are more important IMO.
I am 1st and my younger brother is totally "normal" compared to me

Re: effect of your birth order in how likely you are to be reading thi
 

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I just read a very interesting article from Time magazine which examined how birth order affects how we turn out.

The oldest sibling is supposedly more conscientious and concerned with meeting expectations and therefore more likely to hold a profesional position

The middle siblings may take longer to choose a career than other siblings and may make opposite life choices to the oldest sibling.

Then this is the interesting bit, the younger siblings are often more prone to risk taking, likely to be artists, adventurers, entrepeneurs, or presumably... poker players.

I know that I fit the profile and I think it'd be interesting to start a survey here and see if the results correlate, so if you're interested please post your birth order here.

I'm 3rd out of 4

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I'm way off...

1st of 3 - very far from normal.


The middle child in my family has much more normal "future career choices", but is 19 and still hasnt come to a decision.

The last child is a 16 year old drama queen mooch who needs to grow out of it. Not sure how that falls into the category. Probably too young to tell.

Re: effect of your birth order in how likely you are to be reading thi
 

That actually makes perfect sense.

The common aim of any living thing is to reproduce. Some animals actually die in the process.

Therefore an animal, which reproduces twice and then the 3rd one takes a risk has made sure it has passed it's genes on.

Therefore the risk taker may die without effecting the gene pool, but may do something fantastic improving the chance of offspring. Now days that would have little effect, but in the days of cave man, it may mean the difference of a clan dieing or livng.

Good Post OP

Re: effect of your birth order in how likely you are to be reading thi
 

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2nd of 3. However, the other 2 are female and I am male. Does that affect your model?

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From what I understood from the article, gender would make no difference.

Re: effect of your birth order in how likely you are to be reading thi
 

i have an older brother and younger sister.

my brother is just like how you described the 1st born.

i however am a musician/poker player so fit into the youngest child category i believe

Re: effect of your birth order in how likely you are to be reading thi
 

I'm 1st of 3, with my 11 year old sisters being twins.

I sort of fit the profile; up till end of secondary school I had always been extremely conscientious and my career plan back then was to be an accountant. Now when I look back at that I think yawn, but I have changed quite a lot over the past couple of years due to various circumstances. I'm much more prone to taking chances at things these days.

The older one of my twin sisters almost always comes top at school, and the youngest is perhaps more well-rounded in that she's quite artistic whereas the other one isn't as much.

Re: effect of your birth order in how likely you are to be reading thi
 

3 of 3

Re: effect of your birth order in how likely you are to be reading thi
 

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The middle siblings may take longer to choose a career than other siblings and may make opposite life choices to the oldest sibling.

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that statement is pretty true for me. 26 and still not sure what i am going to do lol.

2 of 3. my sister is ten years older then me and my brother is 2.5 yrs younger.

Re: effect of your birth order in how likely you are to be reading thi
 

I'm 1 of 2. I definitely used to fit the profile of a first born but I have changed alot and now am quite the risk taker.

Re: effect of your birth order in how likely you are to be reading thi
 

To make things easier I'll add a poll.

Re: effect of your birth order in how likely you are to be reading thi
 

lol, what about middle middle?

Re: effect of your birth order in how likely you are to be reading thi
 

Hmmm.... 1st of 4.

I have a professional position (software engineer) and I also play poker.

Re: effect of your birth order in how likely you are to be reading thi
 

I'm the youngest out of two, and I am a musician and a poker player, so for me it holds true. On the other hand I'm getting my masters degree this week and I am holding a professional position as well from next week on, so I am also career-oriented.

My older brother doesn't play poker and is not artistically in any way.

My girlfriend is the oldest out of four and she is risk averse and overly concerned with trying to meet others expectations, so for her it holds true as well.
On the other hand, she is artistically talented.

I guess it does make sense, since younger siblings are usually raised more liberally when parents got more experience with raising childs.

Re: effect of your birth order in how likely you are to be reading thi
 

I have one younger sister and we are the opposite of how we "should" be.

Re: effect of your birth order in how likely you are to be reading thi
 

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lol, what about middle middle?

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Oops, forgot about that one! [img]/images/graemlins/blush.gif[/img]

Re: effect of your birth order in how likely you are to be reading this!
 

only child

Re: effect of your birth order in how likely you are to be reading thi
 

Oldest of two. I'm risk averse and concerned about meeting expectations. My brother is less so and this model fits quite well.

Re: effect of your birth order in how likely you are to be reading this!
 

I'm 3of3, but my brother (1of3) is the one that got me into poker.

Re: effect of your birth order in how likely you are to be reading this!
 

im 2 of 2, i sort of fit in both ways since i'm a poker player but i have also though about my career/what i want to do during and after college etc. from a relatively early age

Re: effect of your birth order in how likely you are to be reading this!
 

Youngest of 3
My Dad, younger of 2, was also a gambler

Re: effect of your birth order in how likely you are to be reading this!
 

Oldest of 2... I'm the more aimless one and more of a risk taker. Younger one is more artistic however.

Re: effect of your birth order in how likely you are to be reading this!
 

1st of 5 males. We're all professionals in the IT industry (and have been for years) but only I play poker. That should mess things up for you.

Onaflag........

Re: effect of your birth order in how likely you are to be reading this!
 

wow this is almost exactly like my fam, im 3rd.

edit: can you link us the article

Re: effect of your birth order in how likely you are to be reading this!
 

exactly my family too

Re: effect of your birth order in how likely you are to be reading this!
 

It is an intersting article but from experience of my family and others families i know it points out the obvious.

The oldest sibling will have the most peer pressure to suceed due to the fact they will be first to enter school/jobs/housing etc. So their expected to set the benchmark and provide a good role model.

Depending on the age gap the younger siblings can take more risks because of the stability offered by older brothers/sisters and their parents, if they want to take risks they know if it backfires they'll most likely be able to receive any backing they need from the older family members.

Re: effect of your birth order in how likely you are to be reading thi
 

I am 1 out of 2. My younger brother is a risk taker but he takes bad risks and has no discilpine. He's an awful poker player as well. I on the other hand have a good job, and play a lot of poker, and i am a winning player both live and online.

That article is rehashing old birth order theories that i learned either in psych 101 or developmental psych in college. They may have new data but it's an old idea.