When Larry Sommers pointed to the elephant in the room, biological differences, as something to investigate in the search of explanations in the disparity between men and women in engineering and related fields - he instantly touched that third rail and became a martyr to political correctness.
The American Enterprise Institue soldiers on however:
Last week, the American Enterprise Institute brought together top researchers on sex differences, ranging from the strongly feminist Brandeis women's studies scholar Rosalind Barnett to AEI scholar and co-author of "The Bell Curve," Charles Murray. The discussions were heated, but civil. No one got mad, fled the room weeping, or nearly fainted.Christina Hoff Sommers notes AEI hasn't settled the science on this but mentioned an interesting study:
Simon Baron-Cohen, a professor at Cambridge University and one of the world's leading experts on autism, had an intriguing hypothesis. Autism is far more common in males than females. Those afflicted with the disorder, including those with normal or high IQ, tend to be socially disconnected and clueless about the emotional states of others. They often exhibit an obsessive fixation on objects and machines.
Ms Sommers writes "Sound like anyone you know?"
Posted by Dave Calder on October 16, 2007 7:23 AM
| Permalink
Comments (1)
I'm afraid I also have "the knack"
The interesting thing is that I have never yet met a woman who had it.
Having said this, I have know three female programmers. They however did not have "the knack" either, just an ability to apply what they'd learned to a clearly defined task. That's not bad, but its also not "the knack".
I was in my mid-twenties when I first realized that not all men had "the knack" I thought they were simply retarded at first, but later I realized that the knack-endowed tend to congregate and may only encounter the knack-deficit by accident.
Apparently the same paradigm exist among English majors. The non-erudite are dismissed as low IQ. I believe this to be a compensatory behavior since sooner or later an English major will need something fixed and have to confront their handicap head on.
For those with the knack, beware of marrying the daughters of accountants or insurance salesmen. The knack is apparently recessive and you might well have children with no knack.
Its not all bad though. If all your kids are knacked, then you'll have nothing to fix and have to glean the neighborhood for ways to demonstrate your knackedness. Unknacked kids can provide years of repair opportunities as they bring a procession of easily fixed items designed to boost your self-esteem and create awe and wonderment in your grandchildren. Its a tradeoff to the shame of having unknacked descendants.
Posted by Mick Stockinger | October 16, 2007 11:33 AM
Posted on October 16, 2007 11:33