Certain aspects of male/female difference are definitely innate. For example, among young infants, females are more interested in faces and people, while males are more interested in mechanical objects. I believe a study showed this effect was present & statistically significant only a short time after birth (too soon to be influenced by culture).
There are well-known differences in brain structure, such as the portions of brain used for language. Women have an edge in verbal reasoning, while men in spatial.
Male IQ has more variability than female IQ, resulting in more men in both the top and bottom percentiles. This may explain why more men are executives, and why more men are homeless (that's just my suspicion). Studies have also found that male IQ is higher on average by (variously) 3-5 points. From my personal observations, men are more likely than women to focus intensively on one activity, to the exclusion of all others, like skateboarding, or surfing, or computer programming, or gaming.
Men weigh more than women, have more muscle mass, have 40-60% more upper body strength, and 25-30% lower body strength, though with training the gap narrows to 0-8% (so perhaps this difference is more cultural). Men outperform women in most athletic areas, though perhaps not in distance running. Women live years longer than men and have lower rates of mental illness.
Women and men earn equal pay when you control for the job worked, the hours worked, and the amount of experience. I believe a study showed that single male and female professionals with no dependents, equal time in the workforce, working equal hours, earned equal amounts. The pay gap arises because slightly fewer women work high-paying jobs, they work fewer hours per week / take more time off, and drop out of the workforce at higher rates (e.g. stay at home parent).
A good summary of research and sources are available in Wikipedia articles like "Sex differences in intelligence" and "Sex differences in psychology". Certainly do not take my word for any of this, and please correct me if I'm wrong.
Personally, I think we should make sure that every person is judged based on individual merit, and be encouraged and supported to pursue what they're interested in with no preconceptions. That's what equality means to me.
It would help if you could explain which fact you do not find convincing, and I will attempt to provide sources that you can use for further research, if you are interested to seriously examine the issue or have a serious discussion. A lot of original sources are cited by the Wikipedia articles.
For example: "Sex differences in human neonatal social perception".
> Abstract. Sexual dimorphism in sociability has been documented in humans. The present study aimed to ascertain whether the sexual dimorphism is a result of biological or socio-cultural differences between the two sexes. 102 human neonates, who by definition have not yet been influenced by social and cultural factors, were tested to see if there was a difference in looking time at a face (social object) and a mobile (physical-mechanical object). Results showed that the male infants showed a stronger interest in the physical-mechanical mobile while the female infants showed a stronger interest in the face. The results of this research clearly demonstrate that sex differences are in part biological in origin.
Christ, it's "abuse" now to bring up inconvenient but real facts? If your tribe's thinking is that rigid and dogmatic, is it any wonder we can't seem to actually come to a consensus on gender politics?
It's abusive to troll any website posting radical or extreme POVs as "facts." HN is not a place I care to invest my time, and if any person here is sincere in believing that men are superior to women, imho they should be kicked off.
I've posted a collection of facts that are, to my memory, all supported by peer-reviewed scientific studies. Facts aren't radical, they're just wrong or right. I do not understand your allegations about them being extreme. These are not new results; they are for the most part accepted results in their respective fields. "Sex differences in neonatal social perception" (link below) is 14-year-old well regarded research.
I assume you do not contest the truth that men weigh more, have more muscle mass, or have shorter life spans? Which point do you contest? Every point I mentioned has - unless my memory is failing me - similar scientific evidence behind it. If you are sincerely interested to learn more about this, then please point out which fact seems dubious and I will be glad to (if I think you are earnest and sincere) help point you to the original research. I have tried to provide you with this data: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8790525
If you have a reason to believe the facts are wrong, then please explain, preferably with a justification and reference. I've done my best to present the facts as I know them - do what you will with the information. Let's stop here if you are not interested to discuss the evidence I've presented.
Evangelical Christians have these kind of argument tactics down to a science—how to convince anybody through peer-group research w/in communities of scientists intent on "proving" banalities that socialization more often overcomes—and separately, that feed more limiting stereotypes than they benifit anybody or further productive research.
I am a mechanic and a gearhead. A former motorcycle racer, with a pixie physique. An ice hockey player, and a robotics hobbiest. Your praised research has shaped society to present me and others like me with far more barriers, than it has presented to anyone, benefits with any kind.
Hence: my assertion that your evangelism of this research as anything positive. Share some Eugenics research, why not?
Social consequences from non-scientific interpretstions of scientific work, are more often than not dangerous. Leave the science to the scientists, and be a human engaged with other humans as we choose to co-exist.
I am skeptical of your claim that sharing scientific research or interpreting science is more harmful than good. Please provide justification. I do not think that being ignorant leaves anyone better off. Scientists in general do not make social policy. Every person who votes and participates in our democracy makes social policy, to some extent - even if only city council, school board, etc. Some understanding of an issue is better than none, even if their understanding is worse than a scientist's. The right correction in these situations is more knowledge, not less. Today's college students have as much or more knowledge and understanding of their fields as expert scientists did only a few centuries ago. We have to start somewhere.
Research into sex differences has yielded real benefits. Research into differences in life expectancy, bone density, heart disease, etc., have helped a lot of people. Some issues are largely gender-specific, like breast cancer, and better understanding the nature of sex differences can yield crucial insight into treatments.
Research is also gradually gaining a scientific understanding of the cognitive differences between men and women at higher levels of behavior. See "Foetal testosterone and the child systemizing quotient" (European Journal of Endocrinology, 2006). Paraphrased:
> A growing body of evidence suggests that, on average, males spontaneously "systemize" to a greater degree than do females. "Systemizing" is a cognitive process defined by the drive to analyze or construct systems. Our study explored foetal testosterone (fT) levels as a candidate biological factor influencing sex differences in systemizing. Males (mean 27.79) tested significantly higher than females (mean 22.59) on systemizing quotient, confirming that boys systemize to a greater extent than girls. This study suggests that the levels of fT are a biological factor influencing cognitive sex differences and lends support to the empathizing–systemizing theory of sex differences.
This same research also offers insight into medical conditions. The authors discuss the application to understanding autism:
> Individuals with [autism] score
higher than normal males on the [systemizing quotient], who in turn score higher than normal females. Baron-Cohen has
described autism as an extreme manifestation of some
sexually dimorphic traits. The extreme male brain (EMB)
theory of autism is an extension of the [empathizing-systemizing] model of sex differences and proposes that individuals with ASC are impaired in empathizing and are at least average or superior in systemizing relative to their mental age.
In other words, better understanding of fetal testosterone may give us insight into the causes of autism, which hopefully will some day lead to early detection and prevention. Autism is four times more common in men than women, by the way. I could also see this research having applications to education, specifically in the type of learning material and activities that might be most effective for male and female students.
The science I'm presenting is not fringe. You'll find a good deal of it in a typical college psychology textbook. "Leave science for the scientists" is a point of view with poor respect for human intelligence. Like the majority of autistics, the majority of scientists are also men. I think women, and people in general, ought to think about these issues critically. Psychology, especially social psychology and evolutionary psychology and similar fields, lend themselves well to at least a degree of "pop" analysis and understanding. The subject of these fields is the human condition, with which we all have experience. A person off the street will not have the necessary experience with control theory to understand a paper about robotics. By comparison, one does not need a doctorate in psychology to grasp the implications of, for example, the famous Stanford Prison Experiment.
Also, I really don't think this matters — because in my opinion ideas should stand or fall on their own merit; and anyway I am not posing new ideas or presenting results of my own, just summarizing ideas presented by others — but since you brought up the issue of "leave science for the scientists", I will mention that I am a scientist by education and a senior scientist by job title. I consequently do not feel deterred by "leave science for the scientists".
If you dabble in robotics as a hobby then you know that it's possible to gain a lot of understanding as a layperson, even in a challenging multi-disciplinary field like robotics is. Certain fields can be accessible, and in my opinion psychology is one of the most accessible. A casual reader may not have a nuanced understanding, or an idea of how to apply the result to other areas, but they will have some understanding, a mental hook for further knowledge.
Laypeople can dabble effectively in scientific analysis. For example, take a look at "Why movies look weird at 48fps, and games are better at 60fps": https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8793346 . Insightful content written in a science-focused style. Author is a software engineer in the video games industry.
Research has context. Individuals as backseat-scholars, often times miss this context. Conducting and looking-to research studies for a living, I know this well.
Not a conversation I think is worth wasting time or energy on, when a beautiful day and so many other things are just bigger priorities. Macro point: efforts to qualify "normal" in specified groups w/in sociology, are dangerous. Especially for young people on the shit end of that 'normal' stick (in this case, women) the damage far outweighs any possible benefits that you or others could reap from the research.
Black people are dumber than white people, per their DNA—haven't you heard? So claimed the scientist who stole another's work to claim the Nobel (and by coincidence, a woman who'd died years previously was the OG scientist—not verified until years later): http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/james-watson-profi...
Stay away from seeking to validate divisive science that normalizes bad social behavior. It benefits nobody, outside of other scientists seeking such studies as chain-links in more socially beneficial work.
Ethics matter. Live it, breathe it, or please exit the entrepreneur and/or science communities.
There are well-known differences in brain structure, such as the portions of brain used for language. Women have an edge in verbal reasoning, while men in spatial.
Male IQ has more variability than female IQ, resulting in more men in both the top and bottom percentiles. This may explain why more men are executives, and why more men are homeless (that's just my suspicion). Studies have also found that male IQ is higher on average by (variously) 3-5 points. From my personal observations, men are more likely than women to focus intensively on one activity, to the exclusion of all others, like skateboarding, or surfing, or computer programming, or gaming.
Men weigh more than women, have more muscle mass, have 40-60% more upper body strength, and 25-30% lower body strength, though with training the gap narrows to 0-8% (so perhaps this difference is more cultural). Men outperform women in most athletic areas, though perhaps not in distance running. Women live years longer than men and have lower rates of mental illness.
Women and men earn equal pay when you control for the job worked, the hours worked, and the amount of experience. I believe a study showed that single male and female professionals with no dependents, equal time in the workforce, working equal hours, earned equal amounts. The pay gap arises because slightly fewer women work high-paying jobs, they work fewer hours per week / take more time off, and drop out of the workforce at higher rates (e.g. stay at home parent).
A good summary of research and sources are available in Wikipedia articles like "Sex differences in intelligence" and "Sex differences in psychology". Certainly do not take my word for any of this, and please correct me if I'm wrong.
Personally, I think we should make sure that every person is judged based on individual merit, and be encouraged and supported to pursue what they're interested in with no preconceptions. That's what equality means to me.