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Older fathers have 'geekier sons'

bbc.co.uk

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Re: Older fathers have 'geekier sons'

#91

Post by r00fus »

olewhalehunter wrote: post #9
rocktronica wrote: post #3

Sure seems like correlation to me. Older fathers are more likely to have established careers, establishing higher socioeconomic status, affording a lifestyle that engenders "geekiness".

https://www.autismspeaks.org/science/science-news/study-ties... "In the study population, advancing paternal age was associated with increased risk of some psychiatric disorders (eg, autism..."

Be wary of Autism Speaks: https://thecaffeinatedautistic.wordpress.com/2013/03/05/why-...

Their research is biased, and the entire organization follows a gay therapy model (which is to "teach" gay kids that their orientation is wrong).

Re: Older fathers have 'geekier sons'

#92

Post by klipt »

baybal2 wrote: post #31
rocktronica wrote: post #3

Sure seems like correlation to me. Older fathers are more likely to have established careers, establishing higher socioeconomic status, affording a lifestyle that engenders "geekiness".

At least in Russia, I observed an opposite with women. All women of my generation I knew who were into thing like engineering did settle down in early twenties. Russia is a tought life country. A decision to start a family when you are still in your prime may make more sense there.

Engineering is mostly male, so it's easier for female engineers to find spouses from among their classmates/coworkers (and harder for male engineers).

Re: Older fathers have 'geekier sons'

#93

Post by seoseokho »

I think it would've been more convincing, if the study was able to show the splits down non-/geekie parents (or by parent's occupation). My dad's an engineer and he's very geekie for his generation, growing up I always wanted to be like my dad. When I was 12, I'm sure I would've scored high on the geekiness index.

Re: Older fathers have 'geekier sons'

#94

Post by imron »

cbanek wrote: post #35
manyoso wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Almost every study on early childhood development and later outcomes shows that how a child is raised has very little to do with outcomes compared to heredity. https://www.vox.com/2015/8/11/9127769/parenting-advice-worth... https://www.vox.com/2015/3/31/8320233/time-spent-with-kids http://quillette.com/2016/01/19/heritability-and-why-parents...

I looked at your links, but I'm still not sure I buy it. All of these seem to quote the same study, and it doesn't involve any child under 3, which is actually where a lot of early childhood development happens. That's the time when a child who's left alone in a room will basically turn into a vegetable. I do agree that there's no magic formula for being a great parent. The baby Beethoven phenom, best color to paint…

> This sounds like exactly the kind of thing that would happen less with older, more established parents

Conversely, younger people are better at handling things like sleep deprivation and so on.

Re: Older fathers have 'geekier sons'

#95

Post by lumberjack »

rocktronica wrote: post #3

Sure seems like correlation to me. Older fathers are more likely to have established careers, establishing higher socioeconomic status, affording a lifestyle that engenders "geekiness".

I think it is just the fact that you cannot ask for help because your father knows nothing of computers.

Re: Older fathers have 'geekier sons'

#96

Post by j9461701 »

dragonwriter wrote: post #58
glippiglop wrote: post #42

The findings seem a little off to me. My father was 26 when I was born and he was a leather cutter, so our family wasn't advantaged in any way. He was also a hopeless parent and played very little part in my personal development, despite being physically present throughout my childhood. The really key environmental factors that led me to being a geek can firmly be put down to: My Mother taking me to the library every…

“I don't fit the pattern” is not a strong reason for rejecting research findings that claim an increased probability of an outcome based on an input, not an sine qua non relationship. anecdote < data.

Precisely. I even fit the pattern, being an aspergers STEM major whose father was in his 50s when I was born. But that's no more evidence than the other person's refutation, because personal experience is worthless here. Statistics matter, and our own biases serve only to cloud our analysis.

Re: Older fathers have 'geekier sons'

#97

Post by manyoso »

bykovich2 wrote: post #88
manyoso wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Almost every study on early childhood development and later outcomes shows that how a child is raised has very little to do with outcomes compared to heredity. https://www.vox.com/2015/8/11/9127769/parenting-advice-worth... https://www.vox.com/2015/3/31/8320233/time-spent-with-kids http://quillette.com/2016/01/19/heritability-and-why-parents...

Ah yes, Vox and Quillette, the child development journals of record.

You could always read the articles and experts they cite.

Re: Older fathers have 'geekier sons'

#98

Post by j9461701 »

EGreg wrote: post #13

Perhaps older fathers are themselves geekier! On the other hand, is there correlation between myopia and intelligence?

Yes, because myopia is something of a self-inflicted condition for geeky indoors types. See:

http://www.nature.com/news/the-myopia-boom-1.17120

Basically if you spend all day with your nose in a book, your eyes start going to pot. And the people most likely to read all the time tend to also be quite smart.

Re: Older fathers have 'geekier sons'

#99

Post by taneq »

wbl wrote: post #38
olewhalehunter wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

https://www.autismspeaks.org/science/science-news/study-ties... "In the study population, advancing paternal age was associated with increased risk of some psychiatric disorders (eg, autism..."

Apparently this is due to autistics taking longer to find mates, rather than mutation damage.

Implying that older fathers are more likely to be undiagnosed autistics and thus pass on whatever genes contribute to autism?
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