History of Feminism

ismnotwasm

(41,989 posts) Sat Feb 16, 2013, 04:15 PM Feb 2013

Pseudoscience about gender differences won't solve the science gap

A lot of myths about gender brain differences get bandied about in the media, but a recent Guardian blog post aimed at helping parents get their daughters interested in science was so gob-smacking silly, it could be read as an Onion spoof.

The article overflowed with outdated gender stereotyping, as can be seen in these three back-to-the-‘50s examples from the article’s list of parenting tips:

Have her read instructions and recipes aloud. When she eventually performs science experiments this will help her break down the steps involved. It also helps with deconstructing more elaborate math problems down the road.

Research shows that as girls get older they retain their mathematical and scientific abilities when applied to domestic scenarios. So make your domestic scenario more mathematic and scientific. Shopping is filled with math problems, particularly if your daughter wants something that is too expensive.

http://www.minnpost.com/second-opinion/2013/02/pseudoscience-about-gender-differences-wont-solve-science-gap

4 replies

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Pseudoscience about gender differences won't solve the science gap (Original Post) ismnotwasm Feb 2013 OP

This is just too laughable Warpy Feb 2013 #1

I liked this response ismnotwasm Feb 2013 #2

Which century was that piece written in? SheilaT Feb 2013 #3

i did this with son. he fails at sequential thinking. fuzzy brain. not gender specific. seabeyond Feb 2013 #4

Warpy

(111,277 posts)

1. This is just too laughable

Reply to ismnotwasm (Original post)

Sat Feb 16, 2013, 04:31 PM

Feb 2013

Most of this rubbish is written to reinforce stereotypes and that is its only purpose.

The problem with statistical gender norms is that there are too many outliers of both genders, enough outliers that any notion of gender norms gets turned on its head. Everyone is an outlier in one area or another, otherwise they'd be caricatures.

ismnotwasm

(41,989 posts)

2. I liked this response

Reply to Warpy (Reply #1)

Sat Feb 16, 2013, 04:41 PM

Feb 2013

Fortunately, the article didn’t go unanswered. Dean Burnett, a British scientist who also blogs for the Guardian, quickly wrote a scathing tongue-in-cheek reply in which he pointed out that “it’s important to encourage young boys to take up science too”:

Whilst watching any particular sporting event, command [your son] at random to work out the scientific components of the game, e.g. what is the trajectory of the ball following that free kick? How much force did that cricket bat just withstand based on the velocity and approximate mass of a cricket ball? Judging by the severity of that injury, what is the likely period the player will spend in hospital and what therapies will be used to reattach the leg?

Encourage this behaviour further with social reinforcement. Take your son to a live football match or other sporting event, so he can impress all the die-hard fans with his meticulous analysis of the game. They will definitely appreciate it.

SheilaT

(23,156 posts)

3. Which century was that piece written in?

Reply to ismnotwasm (Original post)

Sat Feb 16, 2013, 05:01 PM

Feb 2013

Wow.

seabeyond

(110,159 posts)

4. i did this with son. he fails at sequential thinking. fuzzy brain. not gender specific.

Reply to ismnotwasm (Original post)

Sun Feb 17, 2013, 10:59 AM

Feb 2013

Have her read instructions and recipes aloud. When she eventually performs science experiments this will help her break down the steps involved. It also helps with deconstructing more elaborate math problems down the road.

again, i did the math with shopping thing with BOTH boys for years, lol. fun learning time at the store.

this man is funny... i am in love.

Whilst watching any particular sporting event, command [your son] at random to work out the scientific components of the game, e.g. what is the trajectory of the ball following that free kick? How much force did that cricket bat just withstand based on the velocity and approximate mass of a cricket ball? Judging by the severity of that injury, what is the likely period the player will spend in hospital and what therapies will be used to reattach the leg?

Encourage this behaviour further with social reinforcement. Take your son to a live football match or other sporting event, so he can impress all the die-hard fans with his meticulous analysis of the game. They will definitely appreciate it.

this is where the evo garbage pisses me off.

What about the claim that “girls generally begin processing information on the brain’s left, or language, side” and therefore that girls “deconstruct math concepts verbally”? Existing studies do indicate a slight advantage for girls in acquiring language at a very young age (1-2 years), but — crucially — this difference has been shown to disappear by the age of six. A recent review even concluded that overall sex differences in language ability and language-related brain functions are “not readily identifiable”.

first. my oldest shines in communication, left brain thiking and he is all boy. we had issues with this for the first 8 school years.

second. slight advantage. made up by 6. inevitably when i hear these studies they say shit like, see evo.... men waist/hip ratio preference. it is like a TWO fuckin' PERCENT preference with a large number not falling into any group and another number only slightly behind. but, does anyone give the fuckin numbers so you see it is just a SLIGHT difference leaving all kinds of things open like a poor study? nah.... just put it out as fact and as if it is a HUGH difference or ALL in a specific gender.

sigh....

The original gender-stereotyping blog post had good intentions. It opened by noting that the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development recently reported that among 470,000 15-year-olds in 65 developed countries who were given a science test in 2009, the girls generally outperformed the boys — except in the United States, Britain and Canada.

the reality is so much of this gender difference is total garbage, myth, nonproven, or factually incorrect. but grown adults that think themselves all kinds of smart refuse to actually educate themselves and continue to spread the same myth over and over as fact. causing REAL harm to both genders.

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