In the lottery of life it’s best to start first

John McDermott:

‘Firstborn children really do excel, reveals groundbreaking study’ TheGuardian.com, April 26.

What’s ‘groundbreaking’? Firstborns have been outperforming their siblings since Cain and Abel.

I’m not sure killing your brother ever counted as attainment, even in Genesis.

There are countless examples of high-achieving firstborns – Barack Obama, Sheryl Sandberg, Angela Merkel and 75 per cent of Harvard undergraduates.

You’ve taken the last claim from Michael Sandel.

The philosopher, yes.

In his Harvard class on justice, Sandel asks students whether they think their success is down to effort or luck. Most say effort. Then he asks them to put up their hands if they are the firstborn in their family.