We are all entitled to our own opinions.... but.. by: David Goodwin
Firstly apologies for taking over a year to respond the the comment dated 02 Jan. doesn't time fly when you are enjoyng yourself!
I do not wish to get into some intercontinental arguement with the other main contributor, we are all quite entitled to our own opinions, however to ask what evidence I have that they were identical twins, seeing that I was holding their hands and looking at their faces I think is evidence enough.
As for the comments about the Wests, there seems to be a lot of usage of the word "may" in that paragraph, as for them being identical twins, have a look at the prison photos of them and decide yourself, I thought identical meant being the same.
Never met Edward Gibbon or any of his brothers, so you have the advantage over me on that one, but I still question as to why you would name "identical" twins with the same first name.
Apr 01, 2010 Rating
twins by: princess
I'm a identical twin myself and me and my sister don't have the same finger print. Everyone has completeley different fingerprints, even identical twins.
Jan 02, 2009 Rating
Fly in the face of nearly a century of published research.... by: WFR
This last comment flies in the face of nearly a century of published research. What evidence (e.g. DNA profiles) does he have that the twins whose fingerprints he examined were in fact identical rather than fraternal? The fingerprints of fraternal twins are no more similar than those of any other siblings.
The Wests were career criminals who may have used each other's whereabouts as alibis. They may have simply adopted similar names to further their criminal enterprises.
As for parents giving children the same names, all of Edward Gibbon's brothers had the same first name. This practice insured that in the days of high infant mortality a favored family first name would be passed on to the next generation.
Jan 02, 2009 Rating
reply to your question by: Angela
No two people even identical twins have the same fingerprints
Dec 06, 2008 Rating
Another view.. by: David Goodwin
Hi,
I question the comment of the other contributor, when they say the patterns are similar, in my many years experience in the identification of individuals through their fingerprints, and have recently (within the last two weeks) fingerprinted identical twins whilst I lectured at a UK University and can honestly say that there is no correlation about the patterns being similar and are purely coincidental, any more than having similar patterns to the person sitting next to you on a train.
As for Will and William West being twins, now that's an interesting thought, but why would the parents call their twins the same name?
Nov 21, 2008 Rating
Close but no cigar... by: WFR
The patterns are similar but the distribution of ridge characteristics (also known as minutiae or Galton features) is different. This is discussed in the Cummins and Midlo book Dermatoglyphics: Finger Prints Palms and Soles. Investigator Joe Nickel used the similarity of patterns to present a persuasive case that Will West and William West (whose physical similarity put paid to Bertillon's anthropometry as a means of criminal identification) were actually identical twins.
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