jeffw@tekecs.UUCP (Jeff Winslow) (05/18/84)
Let's use a little common sense here. It is probable that the physical ans chemical structure of the brain has some effect on intelligence (whatever that is) and specific abilities. Males and females exhibit marked differences in physical structures and chemistry in most, if not all of the rest of their bodies. It is improbable that the brain is not affected. Therefore one would expect to find differences in ability not due to environment. Hopes and fears are beside the point. OK, so there's an effect - is it important, especially when compared to environmental influence? According to my experience and philosophy, I would say no. Examples of women who do better than most men at various intellectual pursuits are legion. Averages may be interesting, but it is the individual that counts. Let me say again, so no one misunderstands my first paragraph - I would guess the observed differences are 80-90% due to environment. But... It bothers me when I hear people say, "even if it's true, we shouldn't try to find out, because such knowledge could be used etc.etc.". Human beings have proved to be poor predictors of what any given piece of knowledge could be used for. And how do you know that such knowledge would say that males were better at more abilities than females? I would expect a fairly even distribution myself. The point is that bigots will always be around and have power. One's inquiries shouldn't be ruled by what they might or might not do. A more interesting argument is "the question can't be objectively answered, so trying can only lead to trouble." But how do you know it can't be answered? And how do you separate research dedicated to finding the mechanism of intelligence from research dedicated to showing the superiority of one sex's intelligence? When one has two different types of related systems, neither of which is understood, one often compares their operation in order to better understand both. If the systems are male and female brains, which category would that research fall into? You won't get a consensus on that one. Don't tell me they're exactly the same. Try telling me the sky is yellow instead. Political beliefs can never substitute for knowledge. Jeff Winslow