SCIENCE / MEDICINE : A New Look at Order of Birth

While previous studies which have shown that firstborn children are more likely to become eminent scientists, new evidence indicates that those born later are more likely to accept radical new ideas, according to science historian Frank J. Sulloway of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Firstborns generally receive special attention from parents and identify closely with them and other figures of authority. Those who are born later, in contrast, are less likely to identify with authorities and more likely to be rebellious.

To reach his conclusions, Sulloway measured 80 different characteristics for 2,784 participants in 28 major scientific controversies over the last 450 years.

From his studies, he said, Charles Darwin, who was not firstborn, had a 94% probability of accepting the theory of the origin of species, which had been proposed in rudimentary form by scientists who preceded him. In contrast, John Herschel, a key critic of Darwin, had only a 6% chance of accepting the theory.