4 ms·

Neil DeGrasse Tyson makes an excellent point, but Larry Summers is still right

2 points by markmassie 13y ago

lutusp 13y ago
The linked article tries to equate two unequal kinds of science: > Instead, let us limit ourselves to the sciences, which encompass both natural sciences and social sciences. The problem with this approach is that one of those categories is science as science is defined (i.e. rigorous, objective, deterministic, falsifiable), the other isn't. The author goes on to show that the overwhelming gender disparity in the "hard" sciences is balanced by an opposite and equally overwhelming gender disparity in the social sciences -- (Men:Women) Physics: 1694: 448 Computer Science: 1465: 380 Chemistry: 1520: 897 Psychology: 1047:2566 -- therefore (the author implies but never actually says this) maybe the much discussed STEM issue is overblown. But it overlooks the fact that social science is not rigorous science, and (in a classic case of self-reference) a perfect example is the linked article, which makes its argument by comparing non-comparable things. The STEM problem is not that there aren't enough women in all sciences including the social sciences -- the linked article proves this isn't so -- the problem is that there are too few women in the sciences that actually matter to society. Another comment: > Men, on average, are superior at mathematical reasoning. That depends on how one defines "mathematical reasoning". According to surveys, women are better at mathematical calculating, men are better at abstract mathematical thinking. To summarize, to students reading this post, students who might not have decades of life experience to season one's outlook, I must say that from a perspective in college, physics and psychology may appear to be equal in rank, but they aren't: http://www.payscale.com/college-salary-report-2014/majors-that-pay-you-back http://www.payscale.com/college-salary-report-2014/majors-th... Majors by Salary Potential – Full List ... 9. Physics mid-career salary: $101,000 ... 85. Psychology mid-career salary: $60,700 This apart from the fact that physics is the gold standard by which other sciences are measured (i.e. unfavorably compared).

2 points by markmassie 13y ago

The linked article tries to equate two unequal kinds of science: > Instead, let us limit ourselves to the sciences, which encompass both natural sciences and social sciences. The problem with this approach is that one of those categories is science as science is defined (i.e. rigorous, objective, deterministic, falsifiable), the other isn't. The author goes on to show that the overwhelming gender disparity in the "hard" sciences is balanced by an opposite and equally overwhelming gender disparity in the social sciences -- (Men:Women) Physics: 1694: 448 Computer Science: 1465: 380 Chemistry: 1520: 897 Psychology: 1047:2566 -- therefore (the author implies but never actually says this) maybe the much discussed STEM issue is overblown. But it overlooks the fact that social science is not rigorous science, and (in a classic case of self-reference) a perfect example is the linked article, which makes its argument by comparing non-comparable things. The STEM problem is not that there aren't enough women in all sciences including the social sciences -- the linked article proves this isn't so -- the problem is that there are too few women in the sciences that actually matter to society. Another comment: > Men, on average, are superior at mathematical reasoning. That depends on how one defines "mathematical reasoning". According to surveys, women are better at mathematical calculating, men are better at abstract mathematical thinking. To summarize, to students reading this post, students who might not have decades of life experience to season one's outlook, I must say that from a perspective in college, physics and psychology may appear to be equal in rank, but they aren't: http://www.payscale.com/college-salary-report-2014/majors-that-pay-you-back http://www.payscale.com/college-salary-report-2014/majors-th... Majors by Salary Potential – Full List ... 9. Physics mid-career salary: $101,000 ... 85. Psychology mid-career salary: $60,700 This apart from the fact that physics is the gold standard by which other sciences are measured (i.e. unfavorably compared).