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Subscribe to RSSWhen twins Danielle and Nicole Fisher gave birth to baby boys within minutes of one another, people wondered whether it was the result of some sort of special twin telepathy. After all, what are the chances that two young women would get pregnant within weeks of one another and then deliver 13 minutes apart?
The duo insists they didn’t consciously plan to get pregnant together. Twenty-three year old Nicole Fisher put it down to the “twin thing.” “It just has something to do with that twin communication,” she told her hometown New Jersey newspaper, The Courier-Post.
But twin experts aren’t ready to explain this away with ESP.
“I’ve heard of these things happening before,” said Nancy Segal, a professor of psychology at California State University at Fullerton and author of “Entwined Lives: Twins and What They Tell Us About Human Behavior.” “It’s fascinating. But I don’t think there’s any kind of ESP going on.”
Segal thinks the more likely explanation is shared genetics. While genes aren’t destiny, she said, they tend to greatly influence our lives.
“Twins’ lives tend to be in synch, particularly identical twins,” Segal said. “And you could see how genetics might come into play when it comes to the ease of conception, for example.”
Segal has interviewed hundreds of twins and for the most part she hasn’t come across many instances of any special sort of twin communication.
“They can have very close connections,” Segal said. “They can spend a lot of time together because they get along so well.”
It’s not just the power of genes that makes twins feel so close, said Ricardo Ainslie, a professor in the department of psychology at the University of Texas at Austin and author of “The Psychology of Twinship.”
“They grow up together in the same developmental context,” Ainslie said. “That’s very powerful. And because of it there will always be a kind of intimacy between twins that doesn’t exist between siblings that are different ages.”
Model Lauren Scruggs, who lost her left eye after being struck by an airplane propeller, has a fraternal twin sister, Brittany. In a recent post on CaringBridge.org, their mom, Cheryl Scruggs, reported that Brittany’s left eye had been twitching for days. “She knows it’s because of their deep connection she and Lo have, and God allowing her to go through this with her at the ‘twin’ level,” she wrote.
Still, the whole mythology of twin ESP can be oppressive, Ainslie said. Some twins even feel they come up short because they can’t communicate telepathically.
“When I interviewed twins,” Ainslie said, “I asked about this phenomenon. And what is interesting is that many twins seemed to feel that they didn’t measure up to that myth. They’d say ‘My twin and I try to communicate in these ways. Maybe we’re just not as twin-like as other twins.’”
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I'm a twin and the only thing my twin communicates is hatred and violence.
So you have an evil twin?
I'm a twin and it is sad for me to hear that you have no good connection to your twin. That is rare. I have a Connecticut with mine. I know when he is sick or has a headache, because I do around the time he is. I felt his fear when he was robbed at gunpoint. Although i did not know what my brother was experiencing at the time, I did know it was his fear i was feeling, because I was at home watching a comedy and suddenly at midnight this horrific fear covered me. I told my husband that my brother was in trouble because I could feel his fear. He was on a mini vacation at the time and when I finally reached him on Monday, I asked him if he was alright and what had happened to him at midnight on Saturday. He said he was mugged and how did I know that. I told him I could feel his fear.
Maybe there are some twins that don't have that emotional connection, but I do. We live 900 miles apart now and when I went to visit him, It was as if i was in my own home, because he decorated his house nearly exactly like the way I did mine. I will pray for you and your twin to rid your lives of that hate and bring peace into it. You are missing way too much in life without sharing it with your twin.
You have the whole state of Connecticut? :)
I think a mother and child have that same kind of connection. My son had surgery, just today, and it was just a simple ear sugery and my right ear hurt at exactly 7:16 I asked when the surgery started and they said 7:16 was when the actualy insision was made.
got to be identical twins, baby tube twins dont need to apply
I dunno, I know two identical twins and they don't seem to have any type of 'connection'. Heck, they don't even really get along.
If both don't like the other, than that proves that they have the same connection..... hate! LOL!!! :)
In this article, genetic predisposition towards certain things is defined as psychic ability.
It not the twin thing like the article said its shared genectics. I have five wonderful productive siblings but I have a sister that looks exactly like me but she is three years younger. We often show up to parties dressed exactly alike by accident, we conceived on the same day, we easily finish each others sentences ( and we don't even realize it) WE randomly went out and got puppies the same day without consulting anyone. We are more alike than any twin I have ever met. I think I am more than the sum of my parts but if you compare me and my sister it is obviously just genetics raised in the same enviroment. we really are a sad creatures.
i accidentally impregnated my other half's wife... does that count?! (;
I don't know about communication between twins because my twin grandsons just gave me an exasperated look when I asked them. I do know, however, that I don't want to be on ther other team when it comes to giving clues for word games!
We had identical twins in our high school. A Dude came to our school. He put one twin in a spell. Had him dance and do silly things. The other twin was sitting in the audience. He became under the spell and did the same thing. It flipped the Dude out, seeing this. No doubt, identical twins brainwaves are tied together in certain ways.
I am an identical twin and YES we can almost read each other's minds, and finish each other's sentences.
I believe that identical twins can have that kind of thing happen and I believe that possibly fraternal twins can have the same things. I had a friend who had a sister who was several years older than her. My friend and I were at a baseball game and she suddently jumped up and shouted "my sister just died". It was true, at the exact moment she said that her sister died. Who knows??
Ummm 3 years age difference doesn't count as fraternal twins.
I am a twin, 24 years old and not and identical one, obviously because I'm a girl and my twin is a boy lol... I never understand why people ask, "So! you and your brother aren't identical huh?.." DUH.. and the birthday question never fails either, so when is your birthday?... June 16th, oh cool, and your brothers? again, duh, we're twins. Anyway.. My brother and I NEVER got along, knock down drag out kinda stuff, but then we got older, I moved 900 miles away and then we got close lol.. One day I had this terrible feeling of dread, I mean, OVERWHELMING dread, that something had happened back home, but no one had contacted me yet to let me know. Finally I called my mother in tears and so worked up she could barely understand me. Once I calmed down a little she informed me that my twin brother had gotten into a bad accident on the highway with all the snow in KS and his car was demolished but he was okay just banged up bad. Call it coincidence, call it whatever you want, we know when somethings up with one another.
LOL I feel your pain. I too am a girl with a twin brother. Can't tell you how many times I have argued the fact that males and females CANNOT be identical twins. We also were at war when we were kids and then we grew up, he moved away, and now he is one of my best friends. Anyway, my brother and I don't share that "feeling" connection, but we are both in the same place in our lives. 36, never married, no children (and quite happy about it!).
I found it quite shocking how basic biology isn't really common knowledge.
I have frat boy/girl twin toddlers and I can't tell you how many times I've been asked 'are they identical' or heard 'they don't look identical'. DUH. boy...girl... Lets start with basics like anatomy and move up from there...
That's cool.. you never know though, you two might share a connection yet to be brought out. ^_^ even so, you have your "We were in the womb at the same time bitches!!! " connection lol and that's special in itself!
I've never experienced that with my twin. Although she and I had twin language for a while and we were both diagnosed as type 1 diabetics on the same day (very rare). As for the birthday thing, I don't get mad at people for that since I went to school with several sets of twins (even though it was a small school, something was in the water) and one set did have different birthdays so it can happen. :)
Wow Texaswasyou, this is no joke I am a fraternal twin and my brother and I were also born on June 16th. I realize were not the only twins born on that day but....
lol.. I also worked with a girl who shared ym exact birthday June 16th, 1987 :P It's a pretty sweet day I guess. Glad to share it with another set of twins! GO GEMINI's!
I had a pair of identical twins as friends in high school. One twin died in an auto accident. Immediately, without being told, the other twin knew his brother had died. I believe there are links between genetics and memory. Just listen to what people say when they recieve a transplant. Sometimes they begin to feel passion for things that they never had before. Low and behold, the transplant donor had those inspirations.
I also have a twin brother and have gotten the "Are you identical?" question many times. It's finally gotten to a point that when people ask me that question, I just look at them with the expression of "Really, you're an idiot. Think about that for a second." It takes them a few seconds and they finally figure out why I'm looking at them that way.
I'm a twin also Identical. I do believe there is a connect. on the day my brother chose to take his own life I was riding down the road and decided to stop by his house kinda weird because didn't go over that much. when i arrived his garage was down and he had a hose from the tailpipe to the cab with him in it. i have never felt so much hurt in my whole life. i kinda guess he wanted me to find him first so no one would see him like that. till this day i feel like i only have half a soul. I'm just going through life. I have a hard time finding love and being around people that remind me of him. Rest in peace brother(see you one day) hope not to soon
sorry for your loss..i have identical twin boys and they live about 600 miles apart,soon to be 1800 miles apart and it is very hard on the one still in our home town cuz they dont see each other alot!! i could not imangine the pain they would have if one passed.
There really is an indescribable bond between twins. I have a non-identical twin sister. She's straight off a movie screen beautiful. I'm a pretty average guy, most people wouldn't look at me twice. We're as different physically as we are personality wise but our bond is extraordinary. We agree on almost nothing but can disagree with a laugh and get along very well. I'm very sickly but she's the picture of health and even attended college on athletic scholarships.
We've always been very close and the times that we had the "twin thing" was first, when we were ten, I had medical problem that had to be corrected surgically. The pain started in my stomach and moved into my pelvis. She and I both developed stomach pains at the same time and both drifted downward. Mine was more intense, hers was a dull pain, but she became very clingy toward me as the pain started and even stayed in the hospital with me for the two days. After the surgery, my first night in the hospital, she cried hysterically when my dad was going to take her home and my mom was going to stay. They let her stay and all was fine. When we were eleven, I joined the Boy Scouts and thought I wanted to attend a ten day scout camp. I was wrong. She and I had never really been separated for more than a night and after about three days, I really became weak, sick and just miserable. I was homesick but mostly just miserable being separated from my twin. I was overcome with the fear that something might happen to her while I was gone. The scout master called my parents and they gladly came to get me because she was experiencing the same thing. We chalked it up to separation anxiety but realized we just needed that proximity to feel comfortable. The third time, my appendix ruptured when we were 16 and she had stomach pain that was serious enough that she went through the same tests as I to rule out a genetic factor causing us to lose ours at the same time. Hers was fine though. My pain started during school that day and as we got in the car to drive home, she mentioned her stomach was upset. It was almost difficult to tell her "I think I know why" as mine started generally in my stomach moved toward my appendix. I developed MS when we were 26, she never did, thank goodness, but she was with me when the neurologist gave us the diagnosis and she became sick and fainted. The other siblings, they were concerned but it was more of the "gee, that sucks variety." I wear glasses and have even had eye surgery but she still has perfect vision! The differences between us are that stark!
My sister married after college but we still lived near each other and when she divorced her husband, we bought a house together and have enjoyed it. We're 30something now and I've told her I want to her consider a life post-me but she insists she's very happy. She dates and has a rich life of her own but at the end of the day, we like sitting on the same couch and gabbing. All just feels well when each is nearby. Margaret, if you're reading this, I'm Sorry!!
I have an identical twin. We do look very much alike to the point were people can't tell the difference (but family and close friends can easily). We do not have "twin talk" BUT we do have alot of "it's a twin thing" coincidences. Normally we can just look at each other and either she knows what i'm thinking at the moment or vice versa, the typical being able to finish each others sentence happens alot. Also we used to play a game, we would be walking down the street and I would say "look". We both would look at anything our eyes first went to, 95% of the time we were looking at the same thing. She has also had dreams about me and a couple of times what she dreamt of would happen, this is 100% true. The coolest thing that ever happened was she heard me say something, this was when i was atleast 2miles away. The next day she repeated what i said to me and i was blown away. She heard me talking to someone and wasn't even there. We also both break out around the same time, get sick around the same time, etc. I do love being a twin.
as a child, my best friend had identical twin brothers. one day while we were playing down the street with one twin and some other kids, the twin got hit in the head with a rock. of, course, we went back to the house with him. when we walked in the other twin was holding the same spot on his head and crying. i remember thinking it was weird, but the family was pretty blase about it, because stuff like that always happened with those two.
There are a lot of strange things happening that are hard to explain, even impossible to explain given the predisposition of many folks. Twins developing in the womb together would appear to make plausible that later they both would experience the same emotions and do things at the same time. Maybe even have the ability to communicate telepathecally. The CIA has investigated that extensively as did the Soviet KGB. It has great possibilities. If twins think that they have those abilities, and if some believe it and some don't, well, mark it down as another of life's mysteries, lol. In particle physics, things can exist at the same time in different places, have an effect on one another. It's all part of the wondrous world we live in and what is especially amazing is that we, humans, are able to study and almost comprehend it.
Resonance is a strange thing. I experienced it with my paternal grandmother when one of us would start to call the other, who picked up the (old-fashioned land-line) phone at the same time before it rang. At times I would literally smell a favorite food cooking, call her and she would say "Yes, I am cooking--- and thinking of you, come on over." We looked a lot alike and had a similar personality, hobbies, etc..
Tex, resonance is a good idea, it could be that every person resonates at a specific frequency and given the number of people, and close relationships we may resonate on the same frequency. Well, lol, it's as good a thought as any and might be "String theory" operating on the human level.
A persons d.n.a. has everything and is pretty much the "storybook of your life" what kind of diseases you're going to have and when you die. I'm guessing the answer lays there. That there's some traits and "landmarks" shared in their d.n.a.
I agree with a lot of the comments here. I'm an identical twin and I live and work with my twin every day. A lot of singletons ask how I can stand it, or say 'I could NEVER do that!' But the twins that we meet just 'get it' and understand. My brother and I were also blessed to have met and married twins. We get ALL KINDS of comments because of this - our wives even wrote a book about it. Any twins out there, give us a visit on Facebook we love meeting new twin 'friends'.
I have an identical twin who underwent eye surgery at the age of 4. According to my parents, I complained of eye pain throughout her hospitalization. We were separated in different classrooms in elementary school, but on days she experienced stress in the classroom, I would be feeling highly anxious, and vice versa. It became less intense as we got older, and began dressing differently, pursuing our own interests and so on.
I am a fraternal twin (boy/girl), and my twin and I couldn't look any more different. Our only physical similarities are our noses and height (he's a 1/2 inch taller). We have totally different hair (blonde/brown), eye (hazel/brown), and skin colorings (I'm more olive toned). People always think we're lieing about being twins until we show them our driver's liscenses, and matching birthdates, of course. However with all our differences, there is definitely the "twin thing."
Back when we were in high school, we definitely had that connection. I remember one day that my twin had a really important exam (I did not) and I walked around all day with my stomach in knots and felt just awful, until around 1:30, and then it just went away. When I told him about it later, he said that he had walked around all day feeling the same way, until his exam was over... at 1:30. Things like that happened all the time. I can't even begin to explain how many times we can just tell what the other is thinking. Also, we just talk to each other in a different way than the rest of our siblings. My mom always teases us that we have similar speaking habits compared to our older brothers. In pre-school, we were in the same class, and my twin wouldn't talk to the teachers. He would find me and then I would tell them what he needed, without him even needing to tell me. It was so strong of a connection that my parents requested we be in seperate classrooms, and were so until high school. To this day, we still find that we have a stronger bond than with our other two older brothers.
I agree with the article that the "twin thing" might be a factor of nature vs. nurture. Yes, twins are more likely to be exact/close genetic matches, which will cause many similarities in life choices and health factors, however, growing up together and being in similar stages of life probably account for more of these "twin links." I used to hate being a twin when I was a kid, but now, I wouldn't want it any other way. :-)
Resonance is a strange thing. I experienced it with my paternal grandmother when one of us would start to call the other, who picked up the (old-fashioned land-line) phone at the same time before it rang. At times I would literally smell a favorite food cooking, call her and she would say "Yes, I am cooking--- and thinking of you, come on over." We looked a lot alike and had a similar personality, hobbies, etc..
Resonance is a strange thing. I experienced it with my paternal grandmother when one of us would start to call the other, who picked up the (old-fashioned land-line) phone at the same time before it rang. At times I would literally smell a favorite food cooking, call her and she would say "Yes, I am cooking--- and thinking of you, come on over." We looked a lot alike and had a similar personality, hobbies, etc..
Resonance is a strange thing. I experienced it with my paternal grandmother when one of us would start to call the other, who picked up the (old-fashioned land-line) phone at the same time before it rang. At times I would literally smell a favorite food cooking, call her and she would say "Yes, I am cooking--- and thinking of you, come on over." We looked a lot alike and had a similar personality, hobbies, etc..