With that said, I believe a crash-course in the Laws of Twindom is in order. In this piece I will be speaking from my personal experiences and drawing from conversations with other twins. We concur that being a twin is a special experience, and we also know that people often think it's something it isn't.
A clarification that must be made is that between identical and fraternal twins. Since identical twins share the same set of genes and fraternal twins do not, it's obvious then that identical twins will be more alike. http://darwin.apnet.com/inscight/0605199... Fraternal twins http://babyzone.com/drnathan/F/Fraternal... usually share the same parents, birthday, and environment; genetically they're no more similar than other siblings might be.
Do twins have ESP? Do they feel what the other one feels? How do they tell each other apart? Do they share boyfriends/girlfriends? These are examples of questions that we hear over and over. Although intentions in asking may be genuine the reality is that these kinds of questions often lack respect for twins, as though being a twin makes them sub-human. (Would you share your mate with someone?) But to clear any potential confusion sooner than later, let's address these questions.
Do twins have ESP? http://skepdic.com/esp.html This question bears some merit given the many stories circulating about twins and ESP. Think about it this way: interests, talents, and intelligence tend to be largely genetic. Consider that brains are wired a certain way, and that a proclivity toward something can be genetic. Now think about the fact that identical twins' brains are wired very similarly. Naturally, they think alike, especially given that they are typically raised in the same environment. I have had conversations with my twin sister that had "missing" pieces, but because we think alike our brains took the same course of thought. For example, one December we were discussing a Christmas gift for our parents while we were shopping. My sister, Jami, was in the dressing room trying on clothing and we were talking through the door. There was about a minute of silence as we paused in the conversation about the gift. Then I brought up a seemingly unrelated subject (I don't remember what it was) and discovered that Jami was thinking about the very same topic. We were surprised and yet we were not. ESP? I didn't think so, but brain chemistry, wiring, and conditioning? That was a likely explanation.
Go To Page: 1 2
| Here's the follow-up discussion on this article: | View all related messages |
For a complete listing of article comments, questions, and other discussions related to Jodi Michael Horner's Twins/Multiples topic, please visit the Discussions page.