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Tags females , males , brains , differences

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Old 14th February 2005, 11:45 PM   #1
jay gw
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There are 100 differences in the brains of males and females

(CNN) -- It's an argument that's as old as it is contentious: that male and female brains work differently.

It's also spawned countless self-help books (think "Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus") and bland jokes about women being unable to read maps, or men never asking for directions.

It's a brave expert who'll chart a course through these controversial waters. But that hasn't stopped Michael Gurian, psychologist and author of "What Could He Be Thinking?".

He believes there are about a hundred structural differences that have been identified between the male and female brain. "Men, because we tend to compartmentalize our communication into a smaller part of the brain, we tend to be better at getting right to the issue," he said.

"The more female brain (will) gather a lot of material, gather a lot of information, feel a lot, hear a lot, sense a lot," he said.

Scientists say males have more activity in mechanical centers of the brain, whereas females show more activity in verbal and emotional centers.

The differences can be noticed from early childhood, Gurian said, such as when an adult gives a child a doll.

"That doll becomes life-like to that girl, but you give it to a two-year-old boy and you are more likely, not all the time, but you are more likely than not to see that boy try to take the head off the doll," he said.

"He thinks spatial-mechanical. He's using the doll as an object".

To find out why these differences exist, scientists have taken voyages deep inside the gray matter using MRI scans.

The scans show that in most women, the corpus callosum area, which handles communication between the brain's two "hemispheres", is larger. In layman's terms, it means that the two sides of the female brain "talk" better to each other -- which could explain why studies show women tend to multi-task better.

On the other hand, the scans show men tend to move information more easily within each hemisphere. It all boils down to genes, according to Dr. Marianne Legato Partnership for Gender Specific Medicine Columbia University.

Women are born with two X chromosomes, and men with an X and a Y. "And on that Y chromosome are at least 21 unique genes unique to males which control many of the body's operations down to the level of the cells," Dr Legato said.

She also said those genetic differences explain other differences, like why men can drink more alcohol than women without becoming intoxicated.

"Women do not have the enzyme in their stomach that degrades alcohol which men have," she said.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/science...ain/index.html

My teachers (the liberal ones) always have said "Oh, there's no such thing as gender differences physically. It's because of culture."

Well, no it's not.
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Old 15th February 2005, 05:07 AM   #2
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Strange... I've never known any teacher to claim there are no physical differences between men and women. There are some very obvious differences.
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Old 15th February 2005, 06:27 AM   #3
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Btw, How many out of these can be said as 'manmade'? You can also include ' manmade evolutionaries'--I mean which are evolutionarized due to human's/men's social practices.

Furthur, Is there any differance between eyes of men & women?
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Old 15th February 2005, 07:12 AM   #4
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Only a man would count the precise number of differences between men and women.
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Old 15th February 2005, 07:21 AM   #5
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There's always a huge amount of bunkum that comes out of serious research in this field. I recall that about a year before "Mars and Venus" came out, (John Gray-phoney PHD.) A book was published by a researcher at my university titled, as I recall, "You're Just Not Listening", which detailed research on the different ways females and males handled communication issues, and why there was so much difficulty in relationships.
Apparently, Gray took the main idea and ran with it....

Science Friday has had a number of segments recently on the fact that men and women, in presented with various mental tasks, exhibit different areas of the brain in use.

What's even more interesting is that though different "processes" may be used, the effectiveness in handling most tasks is very similar.
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Old 15th February 2005, 07:33 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally posted by Ladewig
Only a man would count the precise number of differences between men and women.
So "manmade".

We can get some clues on looking at animals.
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Old 15th February 2005, 07:39 AM   #7
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Re: There are 100 differences in the brains of males and females

Quote:
Originally posted by jay gw
My teachers (the liberal ones) always have said "Oh, there's no such thing as gender differences physically. It's because of culture."
Modern motto of radical feminism.
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Old 15th February 2005, 07:49 AM   #8
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Re: Re: There are 100 differences in the brains of males and females

Quote:
Originally posted by Bodhi Dharma Zen
Modern motto of radical feminism.
More like a conservative pastiche of radical feminism. No one, not even a radical feminist, would deny the existence of systematic physical differences between the sexes. What radical feminists typically deny is the existence of innate nonphysical differences between the sexes.
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Old 15th February 2005, 08:13 AM   #9
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One might read Stephen Pinker's The Blank Slate for more on this.
Modern academia apparently embraced the notion that there is no "human nature" back around the turn of the century, and it's still a prevalent idea.
Everything we do is the result of experience and culture.

Pinker pretty well demolishes the idea.
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Old 15th February 2005, 08:16 AM   #10
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Re: Re: Re: There are 100 differences in the brains of males and females

Quote:
Originally posted by new drkitten
No one, not even a radical feminist, would deny the existence of systematic physical differences between the sexes.
Wanna bet?

Ten dollars says that ten minutes on google will find someone who says exactly that.
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Old 15th February 2005, 08:35 AM   #11
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Re: Re: Re: Re: There are 100 differences in the brains of males and females

Quote:
Originally posted by PixyMisa
Wanna bet?

Ten dollars says that ten minutes on google will find someone who says exactly that.
I will be extremely surprised if you can find such a creature.
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Old 15th February 2005, 08:42 AM   #12
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Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: There are 100 differences in the brains of males and females

Quote:
Originally posted by new drkitten
I will be extremely surprised if you can find such a creature.
It wouldn't surprise me in the least, but as it turns out it's not an easy thing to google for.

Well, I could waste another five minutes searching, or I could cough up the ten dollars.
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Old 15th February 2005, 08:48 AM   #13
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Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: There are 100 differences in the brains of males and females

Quote:
Originally posted by PixyMisa

Well, I could waste another five minutes searching, or I could cough up the ten dollars.
I never accepted the bet, so I won't hold you to it. But if you feel like sending $10 to the JREF, I'm sure they would appreciate it.
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Old 15th February 2005, 08:54 AM   #14
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Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: There are 100 differences in the brains of males and fema

Quote:
Originally posted by new drkitten
I never accepted the bet, so I won't hold you to it. But if you feel like sending $10 to the JREF, I'm sure they would appreciate it.
It's a deal.

...

$4 postage and packing?
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Old 15th February 2005, 09:15 AM   #15
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Whats the difficult thing about it? Different brain structures qualify as physical differences. If we account behavioural differences as caused by different structures then we most say that males and females act different because they brains are different.

But they say that no, we act different because our culture raise us different (I know, to many different words in this text ).
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Old 15th February 2005, 09:20 AM   #16
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Re: Re: Re: There are 100 differences in the brains of males and females

Quote:
Originally posted by new drkitten
What radical feminists typically deny is the existence of innate nonphysical differences between the sexes.
...which is equally silly.

Unfortunately, this area is one (among many in our society today, actually) that causes a wave of hypersensitive whining and denial (ad nauseum) from generally insecure people who think if someone says "different" they mean "inferior/superior."

What Gurian said (at least in the above quotes) is all obviously true, but hardly news...
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Old 15th February 2005, 09:36 AM   #17
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Quote:
Originally posted by Wrath of the Swarm
Strange... I've never known any teacher to claim there are no physical differences between men and women. There are some very obvious differences.
Maybe some researchers need to get out of the lab more often?
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Old 15th February 2005, 09:58 AM   #18
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Quote:
Originally posted by Bodhi Dharma Zen
Whats the difficult thing about it? Different brain structures qualify as physical differences. If we account behavioural differences as caused by different structures then we most say that males and females act different because they brains are different.
However, the link that you postulate ("behavioural differences as caused by different structure") is highly controversial and at best unproven. I can go further -- there is no credible theory that attributes a specific gender-linked difference in normal behaviour (for example, females are "better at language") to a specific difference in brain structure (for example, the different size of the corpus callosum).

There are a few well-established differences in abnormal behavior. For example, men are overwhelmingly more likely than women to acquire aphasia as a result of left-hemisphere brain injury. This can be tied in with PET scan data (although not to any known structural differences) suggesting that men's language processing is more localized, and specifically localized in the left hemisphere. Damage to the left hemisphere is much more likely to cause significant damage to the language processing "centers" in men, therefore.

However, the specific theory presented in the OP -- "scans show that in most women, the corpus callosum area, which handles communication between the brain's two "hemispheres", is larger. In layman's terms, it means that the two sides of the female brain "talk" better to each other -- which could explain why studies show women tend to multi-task better" -- is a good example of prejudice masquerading as science. The studies that "show" women tend to multi-task better don't present any evidence to suggest that it's innate instead of cultural (or learned), and even the scientists who work in this area (Gorski, Meyer, etc.) don't claim that. In fact, most of the scientists who work on multitasking specifically don't even see gender differences. This apparent behaviour difference may not even exist --- and yet you're postulating a structural cause for a nonexistent effect.
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Old 15th February 2005, 11:23 AM   #19
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Quote:
Originally posted by new drkitten
However, the link that you postulate ("behavioural differences as caused by different structure") is highly controversial and at best unproven.
Depends on who you ask.

In any case, I take for granted that the differences are there, because I find it as the most plausible answer to the differences in behavior that I see. Not conclusive at all, I know, but unless someone show us some proof that cant be doubted, we are trapped in what we, as individuals, believe is the most plausible answer.

Like in several other fields, btw.
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Old 15th February 2005, 12:02 PM   #20
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There are two bathrooms upstairs in our house. Supposedly one is for parents, and the other is for kids.

Except that daughter refuses to go in and use the bathroom used by her brothers becaues it is disgusting.

One big difference is what yuck each will put up with.

Dear hubby spent Valentine's Day evening cleaning most of their bathroom... including a situation dealing with #2 son's cat whose litter box is in there similar to this:
http://www.comics.com/comics/getfuzz...-20050214.html

Today I am hanging out here, avoiding the promise I made to scrub the floor, shower and wall behind toilet.

Oh, as anyone who has been in a long-term heterosexual relationship can attest to... there are differences which point to what duties each one will take.

Dear hubby does the computer management, income, guiding the kids into their chores, cleaning the toilets, vacuuming the fridge grills, many indoor cleaning bits, Sunday breakfast and dinner, and all soccer related items excluding laundry.

I am in charge of household finances, long term memory storage (hubby has short term memory for most appointments and non-soccer related kid events), laundry, yard work and kid lunches.

There are differences... but there are LARGE variations inside of a particular population. So I tend to ignore those that say that one subsection of population is this way or that and then assumes that ALL of those in that population is that way. Statements like "all girls like dolls" would be foolish in light of the fact my daughter hates dolls (prefers plushies, specifically the anime type). Editted to add: my daughter did remove all the heads of her dolls.

(also added: in my house I am the mechanical reasoning person, since I was an engineer -- hubby thinks in bits and bytes)

Oh, rats... I guess I have to tackle that bathroom floor now. sigh
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Old 15th February 2005, 08:26 PM   #21
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There can be 'natural evolutions AND 'social evolutions' effected by our previous exposures to which we become habitual, addicted & adapted to. Adaption & adoptions or nature vs. nursure may be few words.
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