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The brain is a physical, biological organ just like the heart, eyes, etc. So yes, just as there are minor physical differences between men and women in other wa
by twh270 9y ago
The brain is a physical, biological organ just like the heart, eyes, etc. So yes, just as there are minor physical differences between men and women in other ways, there are minor physical differences in the brain as well. Across a sufficiently large sample set, men will on average be slightly better at some things, and women will on average be slightly better at other things.
For the reactionary crowd, please note I said "minor differences" and "slightly better". There's a ton of overlap and much more similarity than difference. Also I want to be clear to separate biological differences from culturally trained differences. The things we do and are exposed to growing up certainly have an effect on brain development, just as they do on the rest of the body.
To further that last point, IMO it is almost certain that culturally assigned gender roles have played a part in our evolutionary biology. So this is not a discussion that can really be separated from the role of culture.
I hope that continuing research in this field helps educate people to see that men and women are far more alike than different.
- nyxtom 9y agoThis ^. Indeed, men and women are different and some tasks, mental models may be different over the average. Even traits such as the propensity for aggression as a side effect of more testerone in the body. This certainly doesn't mean you won't find aggressive women, but on the whole the nuances seem quite a lot simpler when you take into account varying levels of hormones and neuroplasticity. I think it is worth exploring the effects of culture on gender, but I honestly think the simpler answer is one of neuroplasticity and the brains adaptation to selection, hormones and environmental stress. When you stop thinking in diametrically opposing ways of being, you realize humans on the whole (men and women) are far far more alike than we let on.