[Poll] Is it true that Older Fathers have Geekier Sons? (Or daughters?)

[elsiegee40]

So to test this BBC news story's hypothesis we need a sample of Geeks and to know the age of their Dad when they were born

Older fathers have 'geekier sons' - BBC News

 

According to the story "The mother's age had no impact, and daughters seemed to be immune".

 

I have tried to combine a separate female and male survey in the same poll rather than have two threads.

 

Please use the exact age of your Dad the day you were born... so if he turned 26 next day, he still counts as 25 on the day you were born.

 

App users: To vote you will need to go into "web view" (iOS) or "Open in browser" (android)

Edited June 20, 2017 by elsiegee40

[jdoyle]

My dad was born July 1937 and I was born May 1962. I used to be geekier when I was younger but less so now.

 

My eldest was born June 1994, middle June 1996 and youngest August 2000. Middle is pretty good at tech. Youngest not too bad.

[hardtailstar]

My dad was 29 when I was born. I'm the geekiest out of my two brothers and I.

[6Foot2]

My dad was 33 when I was born, and 31 when my older brother was born. There are three in my family younger than me culminating with my sister: Dad was 41 when she was born.

 

I am the only one of the five of us you might consider 'geeky' despite three being younger than me (and dad being older when they were born)

[DeGrimmy]

My Dad would've been 26 when my non-identical twin brother and I were born. We're both quite geeky, but about different things! No other siblings.

[Domo]

Both my mum and dad were 29 when i was born.

I was born in 96, and i'm on a website called EduGEEK, so we can see how i turned out

 

edit - Also have a younger brother who was born in 99, he's into games and whatnot, but i wouldn't call him geeky as such.

Edited June 21, 2017 by Domo

[witch]

What do they consider "older" though? I can't see it in the article.

 

my mum was 29, my dad 34 when i was born.

 

My own children were born when both mrwITch and I were 29, 31 and 33. The middle one is now geeky in terms of software development, but the other two are engineers so I don't know if that counts

Edited June 21, 2017 by witch

[elsiegee40]

What do they consider "older" though? I can't see it in the article.

 

my mum was 29, my dad 34 when i was born.

 

My own children were born when both mrwITch and I were 29, 31 and 33. The middle one is now geeky in terms of software development, but the other two are engineers so I don't know if that counts

 

I don't know what age specifically either, but my theory is that if this hypothesis is true and we get a large enough Geek sample we should see more with Dads at the top end of the age range than at the bottom....

[witch]

I found this:

 

"......scored them according to their non-verbal IQ at 12 years old, as well as parental reports on how focused and socially aloof they were. For a father aged 25 or younger, the average score of the children was 39.6. That figure rose to 41 in children with fathers aged 35 to 44, and to 47 for those with fathers aged over 50.

 

The effect was strongest in boys, where the geek index rose by about 1.5 points for every extra five years of paternal age. The age of the children’s mothers seemed to have almost no effect on the geek index.

When the scientists looked at the children’s achievements at school they found that having a high IQ, a tendency to focus intensely and social aloofness were all linked to children taking more technical GCSEs. When children displayed all three traits, the effect was even more pronounced, the researchers write in the journal Translational Psychiatry. Overall, children who were born when their fathers were 50 or older were 32% more likely to achieve two A or A* grades at GCSE than children born to men aged under 25"

 

But the study is of twins which surely have their own quirks and differences anyway - twins are often socially aloof from others because they have each other. I would also consider the fact that children born to older fathers are often the product of a second marriage and the father is much more comfortable materially speaking and so perhaps the children get more advantages than those born to younger dads who are still climbing the career ladder and whose income could well be much lower.

[HBPS]

My Dad was 27 when he had me his youngest I'm not remotely geeky I'm just good at my job

[Joanne]

My dad was 24. I don't class myself as a geek (IMO!!!!)

[DJ-1701]

My dad was 24. I don't class myself as a geek (IMO!!!!)

 

*Drums on table when chanting* One of us, one of us, one of us, one of us...

[Joanne]

NEVAAAHHHH!

[6Foot2]

NEVAAAHHHH!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wH0AILH519E