Live data from Hacker News

Prenatal testosterone linked to long-term effects in females with male twin

phys.org

51–57 of 57 posts

Re: Prenatal testosterone linked to long-term effects in females with male twin

#51
post #27
post #22

With smaller data sets I find the summary to be less valuable than the actual paper. In this case we are talking about 4,533 twin pairs where one is a male and the other female. The female twin had a 2.8-percentage point higher probability of dropping out of high school compared to other female students, and a similar 1.9-percentage point lower probability of graduating from college. Those two numbers seems connected…

> The paper do not give out any P values [...] for their primary findings. The relative effect is large, but I interpret that more like a warning flag. Incorrect. The p-values -- all 85 of them -- are presented in the appendix[1], linked to in the first paragraph under the 'Results' heading, along with means, standard deviations, and number of observations. The article text[2] repeatedly references these tables when…

> are presented in the appendix[1],

Thank you, missed the appendix. Also see that in the figure page list CI as 95%.

> These measures are already known to be strongly correlated... The paper does explicitly make clear when findings of independence are relevant

The first few paragraphs in the article here and the Significance section in the actually paper imply a strong independence. My point above is basically that the independence looks to be much weaker than a casual read might imply. It also boast with the largest study ever done on the subject, which might be true, but the absolute number are actually quite low with only a few individuals being responsible for a large effect in the data. That is one of the biggest warning signs that exist in this kind of research. I thus get skeptical, at which point I start to look why there seems to be a disconnect.

Re: Prenatal testosterone linked to long-term effects in females with male twin

#53

Has nobody recognized that not a single biologist, chemist, neurosurgeon, hormone specialist, neo-natal specialist, or just general medical doctor participated or helped produce this study? Here are the authors: Aline Bütikofer - Department of Economics, Norwegian School of Economics, 5045 Bergen, Norway David N. Figlio - School of Education and Social Policy, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208 Krzysztof Kar…

"This is propaganda of the highest order."

That's a little much.

I don't see any reason to believe anything other than the simple (and minor) outcome here: a small deviation in outcomes due to prenatal hormones.

That's not propaganda it's just bad math, worst case.

Re: Prenatal testosterone linked to long-term effects in females with male twin

#54
post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's very American reaction. As an Eastern European I find it's just funny.

No, I’m American and found it one of the funniest comments I’ve read in a while.

Holy crap, it’s flagged and gone. Wow. My god, I hate this timeline.

Re: Prenatal testosterone linked to long-term effects in females with male twin

#55
I have a twin sister, twin brother talking, and unfortunately this study does not show credence for me. She's smart as a whip, in a lawyer way, as I'm more math/science. We both make six figures and both are very career focused. I had to laugh at this study...she used her words like a dagger to defend against my constant barrage of physical torture growing up. It was a very contentious relationship.

Re: Prenatal testosterone linked to long-term effects in females with male twin

#56
post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, I’m American and found it one of the funniest comments I’ve read in a while.

It is so nice to come on HN and get some relief from the monotonous humorlessness that is life in USA today. For a moment, I imagine that I can laugh at funny statements no matter which way they point politically, rather than restricting my entertainment to grumbling in approved ways about whomever we're supposed to despise now.

Comment was flagged but thank you!!

Re: Prenatal testosterone linked to long-term effects in females with male twin

#57

I have a twin sister, twin brother talking, and unfortunately this study does not show credence for me. She's smart as a whip, in a lawyer way, as I'm more math/science. We both make six figures and both are very career focused. I had to laugh at this study...she used her words like a dagger to defend against my constant barrage of physical torture growing up. It was a very contentious relationship.

You do realize that the point of the study is not that every single woman who has a male twin will not be successful, right?
Post reply on HN