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> Finally, a standardized test of mathematics ability found no difference between boys and girls. > So why are fields like mathematics and computer science so

by spodek 7y ago

> Finally, a standardized test of mathematics ability found no difference between boys and girls. > So why are fields like mathematics and computer science so dominated by men? At that age, boys' and girls' hips, shoulders, and height show little difference either. Should we wonder why men and women show differences in basketball and tennis? I'm not saying female and male brains grow differently after that age. I have no idea. I'm saying that their data doesn't change anything about answering why fields differ.

amilein7minutes 7y ago
Their data might be small steps in the right direction though. My field is not neuroscience but from the outside, it seems that neuroimaging techniques are considered the best way to noninvasively understand more about functioning. Primarily because so little is understood about thought mechanisms these kinds of studies are definitely first steps. May be there will always be great empiricism and subjectivity involved in this complex question, like many sociological questions, but it seems like a worthy goal to understand how and why gender influences a person's choice of field. While trying to make progress on this question -- the societal conditioning/sociological factors that influence behaviors play a huge role which may not be quantifiable -- understanding the contribution of neurochemistry seems pertinent. To understand differences in another field, such as athletics, the answers seem to be far more attainable (e.g. research on hormonal activity and its effect on strength is also making progress) today than in a field like math where its reliance on abstract thinking necessitates better understanding of neural mechanisms -- a hard problem.
tzs 7y ago
> I'm not saying female and male brains grow differently after that age. I have no idea. The do develop differently after that age. The transition from a child brain to the emotionally and cognitively more mature adult brain starts a few years earlier in girls than in boys. It starts at around 10 to 12 in girls, and around 15 to 20 in boys [1]. I suspect that this can lead to difference in what fields boys and girls end up in for two reasons: 1. It may be that the best way to teach a kid depends on where the kid is on their child->adult brain transition. Trying to teach teen boys and girls in the same classes, with the same material, at the same pace might mean that half the class is being taught in a way that is geared toward people whose brain does not work like theirs does. 2. One of the big things you get better at and more interested in as your brain becomes more adult is dealing with larger and more complicated social networks. Just around the time that you are getting close to high school, and you've finally got enough background to start getting to the good stuff in STEM subjects--the girls are also getting to where social networks are a big deal to them and they put effort into growing and maintaining their network. That's still a few years away for the boys, who are still happy to spend hours alone in front of a computer. By the time they get interested in people a few years later, they are now firmly on their path to going into STEM. I have a suspicion that we could largely close the gender gaps in STEM fields by changing middle school and high school so that boys and girls are in separate classes with separate curricula geared toward their different child-> adult brain development trajectories. [1] https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/science-news/10529134/Girls-really-do-mature-quicker-than-boys-scientists-find.html https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/science-news/105291...

by spodek 7y ago

amilein7minutes 7y ago

Their data might be small steps in the right direction though. My field is not neuroscience but from the outside, it seems that neuroimaging techniques are considered the best way to noninvasively understand more about functioning. Primarily because so little is understood about thought mechanisms these kinds of studies are definitely first steps. May be there will always be great empiricism and subjectivity involved in this complex question, like many sociological questions, but it seems like a worthy goal to understand how and why gender influences a person's choice of field. While trying to make progress on this question -- the societal conditioning/sociological factors that influence behaviors play a huge role which may not be quantifiable -- understanding the contribution of neurochemistry seems pertinent. To understand differences in another field, such as athletics, the answers seem to be far more attainable (e.g. research on hormonal activity and its effect on strength is also making progress) today than in a field like math where its reliance on abstract thinking necessitates better understanding of neural mechanisms -- a hard problem.

tzs 7y ago

> I'm not saying female and male brains grow differently after that age. I have no idea. The do develop differently after that age. The transition from a child brain to the emotionally and cognitively more mature adult brain starts a few years earlier in girls than in boys. It starts at around 10 to 12 in girls, and around 15 to 20 in boys [1]. I suspect that this can lead to difference in what fields boys and girls end up in for two reasons: 1. It may be that the best way to teach a kid depends on where the kid is on their child->adult brain transition. Trying to teach teen boys and girls in the same classes, with the same material, at the same pace might mean that half the class is being taught in a way that is geared toward people whose brain does not work like theirs does. 2. One of the big things you get better at and more interested in as your brain becomes more adult is dealing with larger and more complicated social networks. Just around the time that you are getting close to high school, and you've finally got enough background to start getting to the good stuff in STEM subjects--the girls are also getting to where social networks are a big deal to them and they put effort into growing and maintaining their network. That's still a few years away for the boys, who are still happy to spend hours alone in front of a computer. By the time they get interested in people a few years later, they are now firmly on their path to going into STEM. I have a suspicion that we could largely close the gender gaps in STEM fields by changing middle school and high school so that boys and girls are in separate classes with separate curricula geared toward their different child-> adult brain development trajectories. [1] https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/science-news/10529134/Girls-really-do-mature-quicker-than-boys-scientists-find.html https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/science-news/105291...