Althouse: The dominant twin.

November 30, 2012

The dominant twin.

What must this do to your mind, long term, going through this dramatic experience?

41 comments:

edutcher said...: They're probably just roughhousing a little.

It gets crowded - and boring - in there.; 11/30/12, 10:38 AM
bagoh20 said...: Just having a twin sibling in life is freaky. It must have a huge influence on a person to grow up a twin. I can't even imagine myself with a twin brother, but he would be beautiful.

And check out the butt-enhancement-gone- wrong at that link. Her ass is a set of twins.; 11/30/12, 10:40 AM
Tarzan said...: I've got twin boys myself and...no surprises here!

Yes, bagoh, the butt-link was indeed captivating. I wonder what sort of sexual gymnastics performance she was in the midst of when that happened?

Hope she got some good tips out of it at least!; 11/30/12, 10:47 AM
Tarzan said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 11/30/12, 10:48 AM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Today is Women’s Studies Day.

I'm calling in sic.; 11/30/12, 10:48 AM
bagoh20 said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 11/30/12, 10:53 AM
bagoh20 said...: Women's studies is like subatomic physics in that the very presence of the observer changes the subject so that you can never really see what you are looking for in its true state.; 11/30/12, 10:54 AM
ricpic said...: It's all downhill after you leave that lovely amniotic fluid.; 11/30/12, 11:05 AM
Anonymous said...: Pro-choice them out, they are a mass of "malignant" tissues anyway.; 11/30/12, 11:08 AM
Anonymous said...: The tiny one needs room to stretch.

The big one is the one percenter who keeps what he has, space, "real property"; the tiny one wants his "fair share".; 11/30/12, 11:12 AM
YoungHegelian said...: Hey, it could be a lot worse. Fetal sharks eat their rivals in utero.; 11/30/12, 11:14 AM
traditionalguy said...: Bowing is a body attitude showing submission. It seems to have practical examples everywhere the Homo Sapiens creation has gone, except maybe in Scotland where "a mons a mon for all of that."

Christians sometimes call one another sister and brother, but the pecking order is still enforced in that church.

The middle eastern culture makes the older brother a ruler over his younger siblings with no exceptions.; 11/30/12, 11:21 AM
jungatheart said...: I have a relative marrying an identical twin. These twins are, I think, the relatively rare type that aren't super-close, in fact are competitive. But they get along well enough. But the second twin just got engaged (AND THEY ANNOUNCED IT BEFORE THE OTHER TWIN'S WEDDING!) and the second twin's finacee is 13 years older than the relative I mentioned. And even though my relative introduced and encouraged the second twin's relationship with his new fiancee, THEY DON'T LIKE MY RELATIVE! (But don't tell anyone I told you.); 11/30/12, 11:27 AM
Dante said...: Maybe they are really like Cat's in a box, over at Crack's webpage.; 11/30/12, 11:41 AM
SeanF said...: Now, if the dominant twin is a boy, what are the odds...No, I'm just kidding.

It'd be odd enough being a twin, but being an identical twin must be really strange. Of course, if you grow up as an identical twin, it'd be normal to you, not strange.; 11/30/12, 11:56 AM
Ann Althouse said...: "Hey, it could be a lot worse. Fetal sharks eat their rivals in utero."

How do we know that human twins never do that? Maybe some of us did have a twin that we ate!; 11/30/12, 12:00 PM
Levi Starks said...: Read the story of Jacob and Esau. Jacob had Esau by the foot when he was born.; 11/30/12, 12:08 PM
David said...: Only the females Althouse. The boys will just pop you one.; 11/30/12, 12:09 PM
Dante said...: How do we know that human twins never do that? Maybe some of us did have a twin that we ate!

The linked to article speculates that the development of teeth in sharks at early development stages are good indicators they are cannibalizing.

Baby humans don't have teeth.; 11/30/12, 12:16 PM
I Have Misplaced My Pants said...: A friend has a set of fraternal twins. The girl was about 6 pounds at birth while the boy was a delicate 3 pounds. They're preschoolers now and he's caught up to her in size, but she was much bigger and more aggressive than he for several years. She's the one that her naval officer father refers to as the future SEAL. I'm sure similar shenanigans took place during their gestation! The boy is still rather more sweet and delicate--it makes you wonder.; 11/30/12, 12:56 PM
traditionalguy said...: Steinbeck's East of Eden is the best written Cain and Able story. It covers two generations and contains many insightful character studies among siblings and their friends.

The mean brother just cannot understand why he tries to kill the other one who loves him. He just has to do it. But payback happens after the younger one wises up.

Steinbeck is one fantastic writer.; 11/30/12, 1:01 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Long term it means Chris Christie got the republicans right where he wants them.; 11/30/12, 1:01 PM
BarrySanders20 said...: Images are powerful.

Hard to completely disregard the rights of fetuses when this shows they are already fighting for themselves to the maximum extent they can.

Of course, some would ask if the fetuses we see here are "viable" before granting society any interest in allowing them to continue to exist.; 11/30/12, 1:25 PM
BarrySanders20 said...: Images are powerful.

Hard to completely disregard the rights of fetuses when this shows they are already fighting for themselves to the maximum extent they can.

Of course, some would ask if the fetuses we see here are "viable" before granting society any interest in allowing them to continue to exist.; 11/30/12, 1:28 PM
Guildofcannonballs said...: Tort.

The "mother" should have prevented this if she cared at all for the bloody tissues fighting inside her.

Now, it takes a powerful mind, something right-wingers lack in abundance, to declare a fetus a person so we can sue on its behalf, while also knowing it's not a person at all just bloody tissue, so let's up the rhetoric.; 11/30/12, 1:54 PM
Lawyer Mom said...: What a lot of radiation for those babies.

Forget the bottom-surgery gone wrong link. Read the one about sick babies and the NHS. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2240075/Now-sick-babies-death-pathway-Doctors-haunting-testimony-reveals-children-end-life-plan.html?ICO=most_read_module

How long before an Obama "Care" Pathway?; 11/30/12, 2:45 PM
ricpic said...: Only another woman could follow deborah's comment about the intricacies of convoluted inter and intrafamilial relationships. Or Henry James.; 11/30/12, 2:55 PM
Anonymous said...: "Maybe some of us did have a twin that we ate!"

We didn't have teeth.

We, however, might "absorb" or "abort" our twins so we could better nourish ourselves in mommy's tummy.

A baby killer.; 11/30/12, 3:07 PM
galdosiana said...: When I was in college, two identical twin girls from my dorm were dating two identical twin boys from another dorm. I kid not. Imagine their future families...all the same!!!; 11/30/12, 3:08 PM
Michael K said...: 11/30/12 1:54 PM
Blogger Lawyer Mom said...

" What a lot of radiation for those babies."

Ultrasound isn't ionizing radiation. Thanks for letting us know you are a lawyer. That explains a lot.; 11/30/12, 3:27 PM
Michael K said...: " Blogger galdosiana said...

When I was in college, two identical twin girls from my dorm were dating two identical twin boys from another dorm. I kid not. Imagine their future families...all the same!!!"

I have a friend whose identical twin sister lost a child that drowned in a spa. She had had her tubes tied so the sister had in vitro fertilization so she could have her sister's baby to take the place of the lost one.; 11/30/12, 3:29 PM
Roger Zimmerman said...: galdosiana -

The chromosomes are shuffled randomly when the egg/sperm merge.

But, you knew that already, right?; 11/30/12, 3:36 PM
Wince said...: Michael K said...
Ultrasound isn't ionizing radiation. Thanks for letting us know you are a lawyer. That explains a lot.

It wasn't ultrasound or radiation.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), nuclear magnetic resonance imaging (NMRI), or magnetic resonance tomography (MRT) is a medical imaging technique used in radiology to visualize internal structures of the body in detail. MRI makes use of the property of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) to image nuclei of atoms inside the body.

An MRI scanner is a device in which the patient lies within a large, powerful magnet where the magnetic field is used to align the magnetization of some atomic nuclei in the body, and radio frequency fields to systematically alter the alignment of this magnetization. This causes the nuclei to produce a rotating magnetic field detectable by the scanner—and this information is recorded to construct an image of the scanned area of the body.

Magnetic field gradients cause nuclei at different locations to rotate at different speeds. By using gradients in different directions 2D images or 3D volumes can be obtained in any arbitrary orientation.

MRI provides good contrast between the different soft tissues of the body, which makes it especially useful in imaging the brain, muscles, the heart, and cancers compared with other medical imaging techniques such as computed tomography (CT) or X-rays. Unlike CT scans or traditional X-rays, MRI does not use ionizing radiation.; 11/30/12, 4:14 PM
galdosiana said...: Robert said...
"The chromosomes are shuffled randomly when the egg/sperm merge..."

Of course, but permitting a bit of hyperbole, I always found it amusing to think of two potentially identical families.; 11/30/12, 4:26 PM
Michael K said...: "It wasn't ultrasound or radiation.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), nuclear magnetic resonance imaging (NMRI), or magnetic resonance tomography (MRT) is a medical imaging technique used in radiology to visualize internal structures of the body in detail. MRI makes use of the property of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) to image nuclei of atoms inside the body."

I know. I hadn't seen a video MRI before. I also know it was originally called NMR but that was changed to avoid the use of the term "nuclear."

My point was still valid. No ionizing radiation. Thanks for the lesson though. I've seen many video ultrasounds. Video MRI must be incredibly expensive and energy intensive.; 11/30/12, 5:27 PM
Dust Bunny Queen said...: How do we know that human twins never do that? Maybe some of us did have a twin that we ate

There is an old theory that left handedness is somehow connected to a vanished twin.

The twin rivalry from birth is also a popular mythological and literary construct.; 11/30/12, 5:42 PM
Dante said...: What a lot of radiation for those babies.

It's an MRI, so it isn't using radiation. It used to be called an NMR, nuclear magnetic resonance, but they had to drop the descriptive "nuclear" because people started protesting them.; 11/30/12, 6:14 PM
Deb said...: Funny scene from My Big FAt Greek WEdding: http://youtu.be/EwgTy2ItrnE; 11/30/12, 6:17 PM
Rockport Conservative said...: As an identical twin I can tell you it wasn't fun to be that crowded. And she weighed one full pound more than me. We both laughed to see that video, and then she said "you're still kicking me." We are 76 for heaven's sake! Actually it is hard on the body to have been that crowded in the womb and there are some effects that last a lifetime. Not her fault, though.; 11/30/12, 8:46 PM
Gretchen said...: I treasure the ultrasound pic we have of our identical twins head to head- they didn't get one of them head to feet kicking each other, unfortunately. Friends can't believe that they will absolutely go after each other now; of course they do- they're nine year old girls. They can't be expected to get along all the time.; 11/30/12, 10:08 PM
James said...: Genesis 25:22 "But the twins struggled with each other in Rebekah's womb, and she pleaded to God, 'Why is this happening to me?' "; 12/3/12, 3:37 PM