5 ms·
Brain differences between the sexes are real, but we should interpret them with caution.
by novia 10y ago
Brain differences between the sexes are real, but we should interpret them with caution.
- Ensorceled 10y agoThere is very little interpretation in this article and none about the differences, just a note that men's brains are not structurally changed. Is this a pre-emptive warning to fellow commentators?
- novia 10y agoA warning to fellow commentators and readers. Humanity already has a pretty sizable history of biased interpretation of brain measurements. See: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK11129/box/A1833/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK11129/box/A1833/
- mibbiting 10y agoOtherwise we'll be called sexist?
- tptacek 10y agoI think you accidentally left an extra word in your sentence.
- user982 10y ago"Otherwise," apparently.
- statictype 10y ago"Called" - implies that it's not actually sexist when in fact it is.
- Kroniker 10y agoIt isn't sexist to study sexual dimorphism. It would be sexist to have a conclusion about the sexes and then cherrypick evidence to support it- but finding evidence and then drawing a conclusion is in no way sexist.
- nommm-nommm 10y agoRead what the comment was replying to, "we should interpret [differences between the sexes] with caution."
- pc86 10y agoOtherwise we'll project unrelated biases under the guise of science. Otherwise we risk unconsciously ignoring or lessening the relevance of facts that contradict those biases. There's nothing sexist about studying the differences between male and female and learning about the biological/physiological strength and weaknesses of each. But there's little scientific justification in extrapolating that to unrelated conclusions. Edit: Not to mention the fact that we know very little about the brain compared to literally any other internal organ, so attempting to draw conclusions about behavior or sociology based on changes in the brain in some women during pregnancy is probably a fool's errand.
- rimantas 10y agoThis goes both ways.
- qb45 10y agoThis too I guess, but also http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive.php?comicid=1174 http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive.php?comicid=1174
- kaitai 10y agoNote that this study shows significant and multi-year structural changes between women who have experienced pregnancy and birth and women who did not conceive or give birth during the same time period. This is not a study that is primarily about differences between the sexes.
- nimchimpsky 10y agoA more interesting question is where do they originate, imo. Nature or nurture.
- SamReidHughes 10y agoWhy? What's the danger here, that you'll be wrong? If you interpret the differences "with caution" are you more or less likely to interpret them correctly?