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This seems pretty close to "if you can't do better, don't criticize." Abstract concepts and figurative thinking are important factors in not being completely i

• makomk 13y ago
  Many of the people who talk about this could probably have studied maths or science, though - they just chose not to in favour of other fields which are traditionally more attractive to women. Yet somehow they never question whether their fields of study - which, naturally, they have far more influence over - are drawing women away from maths and science in a way that they aren't men (and I suspect they are in a pretty big way). It's always exclusively the fault of male scientists and mathematicians, who must obviously be sexist if they're not attracting as many women to courses as men.
  • sophacles 13y ago
    I have yet to hear a man tell me he was discouraged from entering some field (with the two possible exceptions of nursing and elementary education) by a woman, telling him 'boys aren't good at that'. (Fathers on the other hand are great for making sure their boys don't do too good at the sissy stuff). On the other hand, I have directly witnessed math teachers and professors telling women that they needn't worry too much about understanding the class, "because you girls don't need it - you're graded on effort" (despite actually wanting to know). I've heard plenty of stories from women about being told "girls are bad at math, it's natural you don't understand". I've seen one little girl break down and cry because a man told her girls can't be engineers. There is a big difference there.