Science, Marriage & Great Discoveries

[scott1]

Several years ago, Satoshi Kanazawa, then a psychologist at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand, analyzed a biographical database of 280 great scientists--mathematicians, physicists, chemists, and biologists. When he calculated the age of each scientist at the peak of his career--the sample was predominantly male--Kanazawa noted an interesting trend. After a crest during the third decade of life, scientific productivity--as evidenced by major discoveries and publications--fell off dramatically with age. When he looked at the marital history of the sample, he found that the decline in productivity was less severe among men who had never been married. As a group, unmarried scientists continued to achieve well into their late 50s, and their rates of decline were slower.

http://speeddatingnews.blogspot.com/2006/05/marriage-and-great-science-dont-mix.html
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It looks like nerd marriage legaliztion wasn't a good idea.

 

[Moonbear]

This actually isn't too surprising to me. I've seen it first-hand. Eventually people realize that there are more important things in their life than slaving away in the lab day and night, and sacrifice productivity for dedicating time to their families. And, if you're unmarried still in your 50s, what else do you have to do with your evenings than work?

 

[selfAdjoint]

My belief is that men have a biological clock in which they switch from "young bachelor" behavior" to "pater familias" behavior. But this happens more strongly if they actually become patri familiae.

Unfortunately creativity in math and science is driven by the young bachelor behavior.

 

[Moonbear]

My belief is that men have a biological clock in which they switch from "young bachelor" behavior" to "pater familias" behavior. But this happens more strongly if they actually become patri familiae.

Unfortunately creativity in math and science is driven by the young bachelor behavior.

It's not so much the creativity as the time it takes for productivity. I see it among my friends in other demanding professions too. The people who would work the 80, 90, 100 hour work weeks and never took vacation finally saved up enough to afford to have a family and once they have kids, they find themselves getting antsy if they're at the office past 7 pm. Not many people who choose to have children are content to get home after the kids have gone to bed and leave before they wake up in the morning. They like their kids to know they actually have a father.

I think the motivations are similar for both men and women in demanding professions. You want to get through school, work hard and get established early on in your career, obtain financial security, then you feel you're ready to have the kids, and the job becomes less important as long as you continue to do well enough to keep it, and have climbed up the ladder enough to delegate the work to those who are younger and still willing to work those long hours. It doesn't always work out that way, but that's often the plan professionals strive for...at least within my experience.

 

[George Jones]

It's not so much the creativity as the time it takes for productivity.

This is all very subjective, but I think it's both.

I agree that time is needed, but I find that not only do I need time, I need time that is free from "back ground noise". By this, I mean not only background sounds, but also "background noise" in my mind. If I have have a lot of "I have to do this; I have to do that; I want to make sure ..." even deep in my mind's background, I find that (even when I have time) I can't think as deeply as when I don't.

I lived for many years as a bachelor without housemates. I found that when I got married, my "background noise" increased exponentially!

Others may have different experiences, though. I once read something to the effect that the outrageously productive mathematician Euler liked to work with a kid in his lap and a cat on his shoulder. Or was it other way round.