Often twins can eventually acknowledge that their siblings are not always their best friends. Singletons face similar challenges. A close friend of mine has consistently justified her youngest sister’s selfishness and self-involvement. My friend feels uncomfortable disagreeing with her sister because she does not want to trigger her sister’s anger or resentment. My friend was raised by parents who taught her to have minimal expectations. In addition, my friend often denies having unpleasant thoughts because they make her feel uncomfortable […]
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Twins: Team Players or Rivals
The media often reports about twin pairs who work together to create successful businesses. For example, the Olsen twins have been capitalizing on their twinship since they were toddlers. Their fashion line is currently a huge success owing to their name recognition and worldwide fame. Teman and Teran Evans are designers who run Dioscuri; Dean and Dan Caten are founders and owners of Dsquared, an international fashion house; Vera and Daphne Correll are the creators of the fashion label CorrellCorrell; […]
A Singular Sensation
Twins often find it difficult to appreciate their own successes. Since so many of their accomplishments are evaluated in relation to their twin, many twins find it challenging to absorb a singular success. It has been a habitual practice to evaluate a twin’s status by comparing what one twin has or doesn’t have–or did or did not do–with that of the other twin. Singletons are accustomed to being compared with others, and consequently they learn how to integrate their successes […]
Fertility Drugs, not IVF, Are Top Cause of Multiple Births
When I spoke in New Zealand, I learned that the country’s national health service pays for two rounds of in vitro fertilization (IVF), each time implanting a single embryo. A recent report by Nancy Shute for NPR reveals some fascinating findings. She writes that a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine relates that drugs such as Clomid and injectable hormones account for the largest percentage of triplets and higher-order multiples in the United States. Fertility drugs are cheaper and […]
Twins and Altruism
Recently, I commented about a pair of 21-year-old identical twin female tennis players qualifying for the first time at Wimbledon. Sadly, the twin who advanced to the next round could not fully celebrate the biggest win of her career because her twin sister had lost her match. If you are not a twin, you may find it hard to understand why the victorious twin had to downplay and deflect her success. Let me share Jeffrey Kluger’s definition of altruism from […]