WOMEN. MEN AND MATH

Ripley, Amanda (2005) Who says a woman can’t be Einstein? TIME, 3/7 51-59.

Women and men have different brains and biological determinist indicate that thus women can not compete in math and the hard sciences. Environmental determinists indicate that women face subtle and hostile pressures to get out of the hard sciences. Even male professors if given that latitude will tell women to drop the course and change majors.

Evolutionary psychologists suggest that both nature and nurture play a part. The brain is not a blank slate and a vagina is not destiny. Males to survive needed spatial abilities and females acquired verbal superiority. However, nature-nurture is not a debate. If you think of a wire composed of two sub wires that are not only intertwined but become intermixed, women will increasingly become more efficient in math and related subjects. It means survival.

In an island off Iceland, the females are superior to males in sciences and math. Women work hard to get skills that will get them off the island to a better job and mate pool in Iceland. Males have less interest because they will become fisherman. Math and science is taken lightly.

The ability for the brain to adapt is phenomenal. Women are no longer needed as breeders. Thus, new skills will emerge. However, biology is still important. Thus, in a gender neutral environment, there will probably a closer ratio between women and men. It is now for every one female there is 12 males in the hard science profession. However, if the changes come about the ratios will probably be more equal, but there will still be a few more men. Why? Because for thousands if not millions of years various male hominids needed the spatial ability to hunt for food, this makes their brains differ from females. Therefore the brain has a special configuration. Changes in brains still take time.