A couple days ago, I watched "Three Identical Strangers" for a fourth time.
The first time I saw it was an advance theatrical screening, before there was any "buzz" or information about it anywhere. I recall that when the curtains closed and the lights came up, the audience sat for a few moments in stunned silence.
The film is very hard to explain without including spoilers. Broadly, though, it is food for thought if you are interested in:
Psychology
Sociology
Biology
Hereditary traits
Nature/Nurture debate
Mental illness
Economic class
Free will
Judaism
The Holocaust (Mengle)
Ethics of scientific research
Journalism
New York City
Has anyone seen it?
I just saw it and was impressed and sympathized with the boys' suffering. I did see some flaws in the film. I have been interested in the nature-nurture dilemna for some time. In 2010 I earned an interdisciplinary MA in humanities with emphasis on science and ethics. I took a lot of philosophy and history. While the film seemed to imply that Neuberger's unpublished study of identicals reared apart was one of the very few on the topic, truth is most of what we know on nature-nurture is based on such published studies. And these studies suggest what the film based on anecdote seemed to emphasize: a surprising hereditary component to a lot of behavior. However, let's hope that the scientists' findings were a little deeper and more well thought out than the skepticism of science that runs through the film subtlely. OK the research represented in the film was unethical. Let's only hope that other studies of identicals that are so important to our understanding of nature-nurture were more ethical. It is a huge problem in society today that the baby has been thrown out with the bath water as far as science is concerned. Because a few scientists have been unethical or stupid and careless, the whole profession of science is being dismissed. You see this in the anti-vax movement, in people not seeing docs, opting for unproven or quack treatments. Generally disturbing is that the public increasingly views science as something to be believed or taken on faith, like how we view religion, that the conclusions and methods of science are no longer in the realm of fact and evidence but mere opinion. As agnostics or skeptics, this should be of concern to us.
I saw it a couple months ago, very interesting.
Yes, I thought it was fascinating as a social worker and psychology nerd, plus I have identical twins.
Oh, wow!! How old are they?
@babyhumanist They're 12, girls.
@Roxi I assume you have heard of "The Jim Twins?" I studied them in college, soon after they had met. But there have been other cases since.
It SEEMS like twins raised together are sometimes more different from each other, because they need to make an effort to BE individuals ... something twins raised apart don't have to do.
But every case is different.
I would be interested to know how similar your girls are to each other, in terms of abilities and interests.
Posted by BDairA very accomplished woman.
Posted by BDairGreat documentary.
Posted by babyhumanistA couple days ago, I watched "Three Identical Strangers" for a fourth time.
Posted by LetzGetReal [ae911truth.org] There is a documentary video available with a contribution.
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Posted by BrunosticA little humor. People who watch doc's are not known for it ?
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Posted by JustChrisIf you love sushi, or if you love culinary crafts and the pursuit of perfection, you'll love Jiro Dreams of Sushi. [youtube.com] Anthony Bourdain loves the guy. [youtube.com]