Beautiful Question Project Chelsea Kelly

Question  Can twins feel each other’s emotions and pain?

Nancy Segal  Dr. Nancy Segal is a twin researcher.  Segal did a number on tests on both identical and fraternal sets of twins that were either reared apart(separated for most of their life) and ones that were raised together.  She found that the test results for personality similarity was about the same for identical twins reared apart and reared together.  Other tests that showed comparable results for twins raised separate or raised together include intelligence, special mental abilities, height and weight (Segal, 11).

 In one of her books about twins, Segal wrote, “there is no evidence that twins’ similarities are cause by mental communication between them” (Fierro).  Another twin expert, Dr. Eileen Pearlman said, “there is no evidence to support ESP in twins” (Fierro).

The Jim Twins  Identical twins, Jim Lewis and Jim Springer were adopted in Ohio. The adoptive parents were told that the other twin had died and the boys were adopted separately. Years later, they were informed that the other twin was in fact alive.  Jim Lewis and Jim Springer first met when they were 39 years old, after being separated since the age of 4 weeks.

 Upon reunion the Jim Twins discovered that both of their first wives names were Linda and both of their second wives were named Betty. One of them named their son James Alan, while the other named his James Allan (Segal 19).  Other similarities were that they drank the same brand of beer and smoked the same brand of cigarettes (YouTube).  Both gyms worked as a deputy and enjoyed carpentry (YouTube).  In school both of their favorite subject was math and their least favorite subject was spelling (Segal 19).  They even vacationed at the same beach in Florida, Pas Grille Beach (Segal, 19).

 Along with those similarities, the Jim twins had some more striking similarities.  During their teenage years, both Jims experienced migraine headaches that they both described as being “centered in the back of the neck” in separate interviews.  Thomas J. Bouchard, a professor at the University of Minnesota performed an IQ test on the Jims and found their scores to be one point apart and said, “If someone else brought the material to me and said, ‘This is what I've got,’ I’d say I didn’t believe it” (Segal 27).  Both Jims also weighed 154 lbs and at one point in their lives both Jims gained 10 lbs simultaneously (Segal 27).  Jim Springer suffered from two heart attacks in his life and while he underwent that, Jim Lewis was hospitalized for a suspected heart problem (Segal 27).

Bridget and Dorothy  Bridget Harrison and Dorothy Lowe were identical twins separated at birth in Great Britain.  One twin grew up very privileged and had good educational opportunities while the other twin did not.  However, even though their educations differed, they were both “avid readers” of historical novels and had very similar IQ scores.  They both favored the same author, though Dorothy read books by Catherine Cookson, while Bridget read the works of Caroline Merchant, which was Cookson’s pen name.

 In a blog on circleofmoms.com, one woman, Donna- Louise, mentioned feeling a burning pain in her leg to find out her twin sister was getting an injection in her leg at the time (Alice).  Another woman, Jessica, said she went through morning sickness while her twin sister was pregnant (Alice).

Coincidence?  It is difficult to say that these strange similarities happened for a reason other than coincidence.  There are no scientific tests to see why the Jim twins gave their sons the same name or why Dorothy and Bridget favored the same author. The odds of these happenings occurring in BOTH twins that haven’t met each other are very low.  Though these strange occurrences cannot be backed up by scientific data, their existence cannot be denied.

 It’s hard for me to think that twins aren’t connected in any way after reading about many different sets of twins that were separated at birth and led almost identical lives, like the Jim twins. But, its hard to prove without factual evidence from studies.  It was hard for me to believe what some sets of twins told me about feeling each others pain because I felt they were biased. Most times, they knew what was going to be done to the other, for example surgery or childbirth, so their sensations could have been psychological.

 After all my research, it was determined that there is no evidence supporting the question “can twins feel each other's emotions and pain?” but, does that mean that it’s not true? There’s no evidence supporting this because there is no way to test it. I think that there must be some sort of fate that plays a role in this. The happenings of these people’s lives are so similar it’s hard not to believe there is something responsible for it.  One Jim said it was like finding something you have been missing for a long time in regards to meeting him twin brother (YouTube).

 I didn’t find the answer I wanted, but I understand that because we cannot scientifically test why these things occur, we cannot say that twins are connected in a sort of spiritual way. I will definitely continue to read about this topic, because it really interests me.  Overall, I believe that twins are connected in a stronger way than us to our non-twin brothers or sisters. I’m still not sure what is responsible for these twins separated at birth and leading very similar lives, but I think it’s fate.  I also recommend everyone watching the YouTube video on the Jim twins, because it’s pretty crazy. Here’s the link:

Bibliography  Alice. "Twin to Twin syndrome (feeling what the other feels) " Circle of Moms. N.p., 14 May Web. 16 Apr  Fierro, Pamela Prindle. "Do Twins Have ESP - Exploring Twin Telepathy - Twin ESP." About.com Twins & Multiples. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Apr  Segal, Nancy L.. Born together--reared apart the landmark Minnesota twin study. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, Print.  YouTube. “Robert Winston_The Jim Twins.” Online video clip. YouTube. 27 December Web. 12 April 2014.