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> their belief that women are inherently less intelligent than men Let's assume that the normal distribution of certain psychological traits differs slightly
by dvfjsdhgfv 6y ago
> their belief that women are inherently less intelligent than men
Let's assume that the normal distribution of certain psychological traits differs slightly but in a statistically significant way between the members of the population who share certain biological traits. Should the study of these correlations be allowed or not? It seems an unspoken consensus exists that it is negative, i.e. if you pursue the study of these you might face difficulties when receiving grants and so on.
Is it really good for the society, including the groups that something might be hurt by these studies? One could argue the opposite: only by rigorous studies we can arrive to definitive conclusion as to which correlations exist, and this could be a starting point for understanding better how to deal with them.
- ajmadesc 6y agoThe type of people that want to make the blanket statement women are less intelligent don't know what a normal distribution is.
- manicdee 6y agoThere’s no reason not to study it, but the moment you use the well known bimodal distribution to make claims about men in general being smarter than women you have lost all credibility because the spread of the populations is far larger than the modal distance. Plus the distribution is based on tests that don’t necessarily measure anything particularly useful. Plus there is centuries of institutionalised gender roles, training differences and cultural differences to complicate matters. So as long as your study is actually rigorous and you aren’t just claiming it is, then you are fine. If you are like Jordan Peterson and use any difference however minor to form your argument, you are misusing the science and have entered the world of politics and oppression.