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How Can There Still Be a Sex Difference, Even When There Is No Sex Difference?

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Re: How Can There Still Be a Sex Difference, Even When There Is No Sex Difference?

#61

Post by speeder »

DougBTX wrote: post #47

This article claims, > Last time we discovered that the brain of a woman is composed of two different types of cells. but if you actually read the last article, it has this example of mixed types of cells: > Surprisingly, there are some human females who also show a rather similar calico pattern ... for a very small number of women, if you were to look closely on a hot day, you would see a calico pattern appear on th…

This to me looks like the "very small number" refers to the ones where this is visible, not to the amount of them that has somewhere mosaic-style cell patterns.

For example it is widely known now that if not most women, all women have mosaic patterns on their retina, this not only explains differences in disabilities (like the ocular albinism in the article, but also daltonism), but in perception:

While men can see 3 primary colours, women can see 6, it is of course 2 kinds of each other, but still 6, this might explain why women treat colour differently than men (example: women are more interested in the colour of home decoration and clothes, they give more names to colours than men do, they can choose between two very similar nail polish colours when most men don't notice the difference, and so on).

Why is that of course veers in the theoretical, the best guess is that while men is better to track motion, probably because they were the primary hunters, women are better in dealing with other types of food (for example colour is important to figure how good to eat vegetables are... there is a reason why farming corporations improve the colour and shape of their fruits, instead of improving the taste).

EDIT: someone posted a video elsewhere on the thread about this subject: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BD6h-wDj7bw

Re: How Can There Still Be a Sex Difference, Even When There Is No Sex Difference?

#62

Post by Tuisto »

lmm wrote: post #37
kirsebaer wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One bias is so-called "stereotype threat". > negative stereotypes raise inhibiting doubts and high-pressure anxieties in a test-taker's mind... even passing reminders that someone belongs to one group or another, such as a group stereotyped as inferior in academics, can wreak havoc with test performance. http://www.apa.org/research/action/stereotype.aspx http://www.npr.org/2012/07/12/156664337/stereotype-threat-wh...…

Of course as with everything in this area, there is no consensus; studies have contradictory results and some dispute whether stereotype threat even exists.

I seriously doubt "stereotype threat" is going to survive much longer. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022440514...

Re: How Can There Still Be a Sex Difference, Even When There Is No Sex Difference?

#63

Post by ReadingInBed »

I think we can agree that there are genetic differences between men and women. The issue is reverse engineering them by cultural results is really hard. We can see the start point (DNA) and the measuring point ( For example: Higher IQ), but how we got there is really complex. Do the genetic differences really mean that much? I honestly don't know, and I think the key here is to study genetics not a genders achievements or test results. DNA is a lot less biased than the culture and world we have created.

Re: How Can There Still Be a Sex Difference, Even When There Is No Sex Difference?

#64

Post by [deleted] »

cconcepts wrote: post #43
golemotron wrote: post #36

I'm surprised to see this ranking so high on HN. Sex-based difference is the biggest taboo of our time. The current educational and political system is organized toward exclusively presenting the view that gender is a cultural construct and there are no differences between men and women other than plumbing. Men and women, on average, differ significantly on career choice, likes, dislikes, and motivation. And, it has…

Yeah the challenge is the way we attach value judgements to the different things genders tend (generalization) to be better at. This is purely anecdotal, but in my extended family many members believed the "we're all the same" view. I was given whatever toys I wanted whether they were considered masculine or feminine. It challenged people to see me grow up and be obsessed with heavy machinery - something they obvious…

[deleted]

Re: How Can There Still Be a Sex Difference, Even When There Is No Sex Difference?

#65

Post by rootlocus »

DougBTX wrote: post #47

This article claims, > Last time we discovered that the brain of a woman is composed of two different types of cells. but if you actually read the last article, it has this example of mixed types of cells: > Surprisingly, there are some human females who also show a rather similar calico pattern ... for a very small number of women, if you were to look closely on a hot day, you would see a calico pattern appear on th…

That very small number of women are those on which you can observe the pattern on their skin. However, the two types of cells (the cell calico pattern) are present in all females.

Re: How Can There Still Be a Sex Difference, Even When There Is No Sex Difference?

#66

Post by [deleted] »

DougBTX wrote: post #47

This article claims, > Last time we discovered that the brain of a woman is composed of two different types of cells. but if you actually read the last article, it has this example of mixed types of cells: > Surprisingly, there are some human females who also show a rather similar calico pattern ... for a very small number of women, if you were to look closely on a hot day, you would see a calico pattern appear on th…

[deleted]

Re: How Can There Still Be a Sex Difference, Even When There Is No Sex Difference?

#67

Post by lowmagnet »

golemotron wrote: post #36

I'm surprised to see this ranking so high on HN. Sex-based difference is the biggest taboo of our time. The current educational and political system is organized toward exclusively presenting the view that gender is a cultural construct and there are no differences between men and women other than plumbing. Men and women, on average, differ significantly on career choice, likes, dislikes, and motivation. And, it has…

> Everyone should be able to pursue any career they want to, but there should be no surprise when you see gender disparities across different occupations.

Even the word "disparity" (instead of difference) assumes that there should be some sort of parity between sexes. And I use "sexes" because "gender" is likely incorrect in reference to genetics. Unless they find some genetic link to it, in which case a lot of arguments will need to cease.

Re: How Can There Still Be a Sex Difference, Even When There Is No Sex Difference?

#68

Post by steveklabnik »

jrs235 wrote: post #60
golemotron wrote: post #36

I'm surprised to see this ranking so high on HN. Sex-based difference is the biggest taboo of our time. The current educational and political system is organized toward exclusively presenting the view that gender is a cultural construct and there are no differences between men and women other than plumbing. Men and women, on average, differ significantly on career choice, likes, dislikes, and motivation. And, it has…

An excellent read is Why Gender Matters: What Parents and Teachers Need to Know about The Emerging Science of Sex Differences. http://amzn.to/1NKVQ6d

Both "Why Gender Matters" and the study linked in your parent are discussed rather critically here http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=261

Re: How Can There Still Be a Sex Difference, Even When There Is No Sex Difference?

#69

Post by Tuisto »

qmalxp wrote: post #9

Is it generally accepted in the relevant scientific communities that male IQ's exhibit more variance than female IQ's? I imagine this type of thing would be easy to verify via e.g. standardized test scores.

There appears to be good support for this. http://drjamesthompson.blogspot.com/2013/09/are-girls-too-no...

Re: How Can There Still Be a Sex Difference, Even When There Is No Sex Difference?

#70

Post by rtpg »

bildung wrote: post #41
ars wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, it is generally accepted. But people don't like it. For example it explains why there are more men in high-status positions, which again, people don't like, and try to rail against ("We need more women in XYZ!"). For an even more "untouchable" subject try: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_and_intelligence

> Yes, it is generally accepted. But people don't like it. For example it explains why there are more men in high-status positions, which again, people don't like, and try to rail against ("We need more women in XYZ!"). It's important to remember that high IQ and high-status positions don't correlate. High IQ is no indicator for success in live. If you actually measure people with higher societal status, you'll proba…

>Psychologically, the more relevant variable for success in live is motivation.

Which is still pretty small compared to who your parents are (in terms of the upbringing offered to you and the connections it offers).

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