oaf@mit-vax.UUCP (Oded Feingold) (07/30/85)
> Why am I qualified to say these things? Because I am a > male-to-female transsexual who has experienced first hand > the effects of both types of hormones. With all due respect, you are by your own admission quite far from the norm. I consider it unlikely that most men react similarly to the "effects of male hormones." Hence I question your qualification to say those particular things. Then again, you're ahead of me --- I've been male for as long as I can remember. > To be perfectly honest, there is a lot of truth in the > concept of "testosterone poisoning". It totally clouds > the mind. May Sophie Quigley forgive me, I can't see your experience being a good source for generalizations. > [Favorable comments on the intellect and social awareness > of the net.women readership.] Hard to argue with that, since I'd undercut myself :-). But I'm not so sure that above-average intelligence and job prospects (or actual job) implies generalized superiority. Here at MIT I deal with very intelligent people by any standard I can name, but some are just as sexist as the archetypical hardhats they're so much "smarter" than. Conversely, some of the proletarian types are very sensitive. My guess is that people who feel good about themselves are more likely to feel good about others. Being a real smart guy doesn't mean you aren't misadjusted, and if you have generalized hatreds to spew out, or live in a mental universe of agonizing frustration, or have a need to feel superior, you might be sexist, racist, whatever. Just look at net.politics for fanatical group-based hatreds from supposedly smart, superior people. I notice some names in common... By the way, I'll also mention that being "smart" MIT students does not keep people from being goddamn crooks, petty or major. I've caught students dipping pocketbooks -- belonging to other students, similarly poor. I seriously doubt there's a causal connection, or high correlation, between brains and morality. Isaac Dimitrovsky's comment that some of the readership may be rapists is not something I dismiss out of hand. So THERE, Sunny. My male hormones won't let me take a compliment lying down... Seriously, I think people are variable enough to vitiate most such comments, and I'm allergic to smug auto-backpatting. (Strains me arms :-). Cheers, -- Oded Feingold {decvax, harvard, mit-eddie}!mitvax!oaf MIT AI Lab oaf%oz@mit-mc.ARPA 545 Tech Sq. 617-253-8598 work Cambridge, Mass. 02139 617-371-1796 home