Scott Alexander presents survey data showing a strong overrepresentation of oldest siblings among his blog readers, challenging the view that birth order effects are negligible. Longer summary

Scott Alexander challenges the mainstream view that birth order effects are negligible, presenting data from his blog survey that shows a strong tendency for oldest children to be overrepresented among his readers. He finds that in families of two children, 71.4% of respondents were the older sibling, with similar patterns in larger families. While he couldn't fully replicate previous studies' findings on IQ differences, he did find a significant difference in Openness to Experience. Scott suggests that birth order may have a stronger effect on intellectual curiosity than previously thought, which could explain the skewed ratios in certain communities. He calls for further research to understand the mechanisms behind this effect and its potential implications. Shorter summary