4 ms·

for example women have smaller but denser brains with closer neurons. so no bigger isn't always better.

by jlebrech 10y ago

eganist 10y ago
Oh this is interesting. I'd like to read more about this if you've got sources handy.
- jlebrech 10y ago
  http://www.jneurosci.org/content/jneuro/15/5/3418.full.pdf http://www.jneurosci.org/content/jneuro/15/5/3418.full.pdf http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/men-have-bigger-brains-than-women-research-reveals-9124103.html http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/men-have-bigger-br... a few more result in a google search confirm this, but I don't think it's a contributing factor to intelligence.
andrepd 10y ago
IIRC the difference in volume is small (<10%) and no link has been found between that and any measures of intelligence.
- rlanday 10y ago
  Are you arguing that no gender gaps have been found in any measures of intelligence, or only that none have been linked to brain volume? There's a fairly persistent gender gap in average math ability: https://www.aei.org/publication/2016-sat-test-results-confirm-pattern-thats-persisted-for-45-years-high-school-boys-are-better-at-math-than-girls/ https://www.aei.org/publication/2016-sat-test-results-confir... I don't know if this has anything to do with average brain volume or not though.
  - mikejmoffitt 10y ago
    The amount of potentially different experiences male and female adolescents have had by the time they take the SAT make me believe SAT results are not good references for this subject.
    - rlanday 10y ago
      How about kindergarten? https://qz.com/826748/the-math-gender-gap-between-girls-and-boys-starts-in-kindergarten-and-is-largely-driven-by-teachers-biases/ https://qz.com/826748/the-math-gender-gap-between-girls-and-... There are people who hear "gap X starts in kindergarten" and think "oh, well it must be because of unequal access to preschool, lack of nutrition, etc," basically trying to look earlier and earlier for where the problem starts until they end up trying to blame stuff like maternal nutrition during pregnancy. Well, there may be factors like that at play, but if you start with such a strong preconceived notion that everyone's brains are wired the same way, no amount of evidence is going to convince you of the contrary.
ralusek 10y ago
Is your implication that women are smarter than men, or that they are not notably distinguishable in cognitive capabilities?
- jlebrech 10y ago
  i'm just saying there may be tradeoffs technically, smaller or longer connections be have pros and cons.

for example women have smaller but denser brains with closer neurons. so no bigger isn't always better.

eganist 10y ago

Oh this is interesting. I'd like to read more about this if you've got sources handy.

jlebrech 10y ago
http://www.jneurosci.org/content/jneuro/15/5/3418.full.pdf http://www.jneurosci.org/content/jneuro/15/5/3418.full.pdf http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/men-have-bigger-brains-than-women-research-reveals-9124103.html http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/men-have-bigger-br... a few more result in a google search confirm this, but I don't think it's a contributing factor to intelligence.

andrepd 10y ago

IIRC the difference in volume is small (<10%) and no link has been found between that and any measures of intelligence.

rlanday 10y ago
Are you arguing that no gender gaps have been found in any measures of intelligence, or only that none have been linked to brain volume? There's a fairly persistent gender gap in average math ability: https://www.aei.org/publication/2016-sat-test-results-confirm-pattern-thats-persisted-for-45-years-high-school-boys-are-better-at-math-than-girls/ https://www.aei.org/publication/2016-sat-test-results-confir... I don't know if this has anything to do with average brain volume or not though.
- mikejmoffitt 10y ago
  The amount of potentially different experiences male and female adolescents have had by the time they take the SAT make me believe SAT results are not good references for this subject.
  - rlanday 10y ago
    How about kindergarten? https://qz.com/826748/the-math-gender-gap-between-girls-and-boys-starts-in-kindergarten-and-is-largely-driven-by-teachers-biases/ https://qz.com/826748/the-math-gender-gap-between-girls-and-... There are people who hear "gap X starts in kindergarten" and think "oh, well it must be because of unequal access to preschool, lack of nutrition, etc," basically trying to look earlier and earlier for where the problem starts until they end up trying to blame stuff like maternal nutrition during pregnancy. Well, there may be factors like that at play, but if you start with such a strong preconceived notion that everyone's brains are wired the same way, no amount of evidence is going to convince you of the contrary.

ralusek 10y ago

Is your implication that women are smarter than men, or that they are not notably distinguishable in cognitive capabilities?

jlebrech 10y ago
i'm just saying there may be tradeoffs technically, smaller or longer connections be have pros and cons.