RSS at Feed BurnerEntrepreneurs and Criminals
Psychology Today had an article discussing Ten Politically Incorrect Truths About Human Nature. It poses some interesting ideas and brings up an an idea that could show a possible relation between entrepreneurs and criminals.
Criminologists have known about the “age-crime curve.” In every society at all historical times, the tendency to commit crimes and other risk-taking behavior rapidly increases in early adolescence, peaks in late adolescence and early adulthood, rapidly decreases throughout the 20s and 30s, and levels off in middle age…The relationship between age and productivity among male jazz musicians, male painters, male writers, and male scientists—which might be called the “age-genius curve”—is essentially the same as the age-crime curve. Their productivity—the expressions of their genius—quickly peaks in early adulthood, and then equally quickly declines throughout adulthood.
The likely reason that criminals, scientists, and some of the most successful entrepreneurs make their biggest mark in their younger years is a result of their risk tolerance. It may also be related to their naivety in doing things which more experienced (older) individuals would not. This doesn’t mean that age is the restricting factor, but the willingness of the individual to take these risks that can lead to great achievements.