Male and female ability differences down to socialisation, not genetics

[Roshina]

Akhem, akhem, would I also be able to get my hands on your essay?

Now, now, don't expect something great; that scares me, you see. It's just a literature review that focused primarily on polygamy and human sexuality in general (in defense of or in opposition to polygamy), and I found some extremely fascinating things about polyandry.

My task was specifically to present three different perspectives of (whether for or against) polygamy: Biological/physiological (i.e., are human indeed 'naturally' polygamous?), anthropological/sociological, and psychological. The anthropological perspective was the most interesting one. I had no idea there were so many polyandrous societies in the world even today, but apparently, there are! It also explained why humans practice polygamy, which consists of both polyandry and polygyny. The psychological one was more the effects of polygamy on a culture or community.

[Dust]

Now, now, don't expect something great; that scares me, you see. It's just a literature review that focused primarily on polygamy and human sexuality in general (in defense of or in opposition to polygamy), and I found some extremely fascinating things about polyandry.

My task was specifically to present three different perspectives of (whether for or against) polygamy: Biological/physiological (i.e., are human indeed 'naturally' polygamous?), anthropological/sociological, and psychological. The anthropological perspective was the most interesting one. I had no idea there were so many polyandrous societies in the world even today, but apparently, there are! It also explained why humans practice polygamy, which consists of both polyandry and polygyny. The psychological one was more the effects of polygamy on a culture or community.

Do you agree with polygamy?

One has to ponder upon the fact that different parts of the world emerged as civilizations apart from each other, yet they have so much in common. It would be a fair assessment to say that the natural world also shares a lot with how human being are. In fact, if you were to take the natural world it is reflection of the human being. So, we are actually viewing ourselves from the inside.

[Roshina]

Do you agree with polygamy?

If polygamy means having multiple wives, then absolutely not. In my own case, I would never, ever, ever accept a husband who wants other wives besides me. Under no circumstances whatsoever.

[Palwasha]

Interesting.. it's the whole nature versus nurture debate. Although the environment plays a major influence, genetics possiby has the strongest impact, (the Bruce/Brenda case springs to mind)..

If polygamy means having multiple wives, then absolutely not.

Aha, but even though the Prophet (pbuh) had more than one wife? Or you mean like in this present day?

[amna.]

Thanks for sharing Gulalai. Things are now chasing though.

[Roshina]

Aha, but even though the Prophet (pbuh) had more than one wife? Or you mean like in this present day?

Can't say what my thoughts on polygamy or anything else would be if I lived in the past, but today, certainly not.

[PFgulalai]

Interesting.. it's the whole nature versus nurture debate. Although the environment plays a major influence, genetics possiby has the strongest impact, (the Bruce/Brenda case springs to mind)..

Ahem! We are yet to determine "genes" for polygamy or monogamy. One thing I can't understand is the way people blame social behaviors on genetic programming. This is completely flawed.

There is a difference between the "genetic potential" and "social potential". In strict genetics language, the genetic potential would demand the identification and characterization of gene PG on the q or p arm of human chromosomes.All humans are goverened by their innate primordial sex drive, yet we have slowly adapted to more monogamous nature than polygamous because of the changing social conditions. For example, my grandfather could afford to have two wives but my son can't have two wives due to financial problems. Does this mean that my grandfather was having some special genes and that my son was lacking them?
Humans perform the processess of digestion, respiration, excretion and reproduction. Humans drink water and they sleep as well. They inhale oxygen and exhale carbond dioxide. I am 100% confident that humans do it because of their nature. But can I say the same about polygamy? I think that would be equal to saying that humans love Pashtunforums by nature or humans like Dates by nature.Hence if not in nature, then polygamy is nothing more than choosing a Hot Caramel Mocha over Strawberry Frappe' in a cold winter night of December.

Humans (both males and females) are sexually wild by nature and hence they have the tendency to involve with multiple partners.However, it is through our learned behavior that we decide to be polygamous or monogamous.There are more social and cultural reasons than any biological reasons for the polygamy.

[Palwasha]

Ahem! We are yet to determine "genes" for polygamy or monogamy. One thing I can't understand is the way people blame social behaviors on genetic programming. This is completely flawed.

My statement was a general one, not specific to polygamy.

There are more social and cultural reasons than any biological reasons for the polygamy.

Oh yeah, I agree with that.

[Roshina]

Gulalai what is your opinion when many say "Men are smarter than women"

Who is this "many" you speak of? I barely hear or read about anyone making such a ridiculous claim now, in the 21st century. It was popular before, but now it's fading away.

could that be because women never had the chance? They use many examples to prove this. Such as nearly all the important inventions and the most inventions were by men.etc.

Just because men had ACCESS to education and to resources to invent new things doesn't at all make them any smarter than women. If it does, let's not forget that women were the ones who gave birth to those inventors; they were the ones who raised them and played a tremendous role in the men's success.

But, yes, the reason men have contributed more to humanity than women have is only because they've had better chances and support. Hence the dearth of female scholars from the beginning till even now in many fields.

[Admin Khan]

This is because women have always been home and served as house-wives.

That is why even today men dominate the arenas.

Dear Shlombay,

Your claims might have been accurate in the past but now they are starting to fade in the 21'st century. For instance, In the USA Women have gained ground in education over the last decade and now represent a majority of college students and college graduates, with many of the gains attributed to a growing number of older women pursuing degrees, according to a new analysis by the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics (NCES).

About 56 percent of under graduates in the nation's colleges and universities are women, according to the report. The data reflect the significant progress made by women in higher education since the early days of the women's movement in the 1970s, when they represented just over 4 in 10 college students. Since that time the availability of community college programs designed to meet the needs of nontraditional students has expanded considerably, perhaps contributing to the increase in enrollments of older women. In Asia, countries like Iran the college scene is dominated by women. These ideas that women are backwards or that women aren't as intelligent as men are really silly,absurd,cockeyed, derisory, idiotic, laughable, ludicrous, nonsensical, preposterous and ridiculous.

[PFgulalai]

Gulalai what is your opinion when many say "Men are smarter than women"

could that be because women never had the chance? They use many examples to prove this. Such as nearly all the important inventions and the most inventions were by men.etc.

It depends upon what parameter you use for measuring intelligence: If you are using IQ level as a tool, then let me tell you that researchers have found no significant difference between the IQ levels of both males and females. Last year (or 2008), the conclusion of a study funded by NSF showed that "girls as as good as boys on the standardized maths tests". They mentioned that the reason for the females of past decades to perform poorly on the tests few decades ago was due to the fact that females were not encouraged to take higher Mathematics classes.

If you measure the intelligence by the number of contributions or the nobel laureates, then of course even I would say that "men are smarter than women", but are women even allowed to act (forget about acting "smartly")?

[ayub]

Danish researchers have discovered that men, on average, have 4 billion more brain cells than women.

The average number of brain cells in men was 23 billion, while the female average was about 19 billion. "There was a 16 percent difference in the count -- almost 4 billion fewer nerve cells in women than in men" says Pakkenberg, whose findings were reported in the Journal of Comparative Neurology.

which concludes that men are smarter than women.

[Roshina]

There's a lot of research on the brain size of male and female, and there's a huge debate over what size means, if anything at all. In previous centuries, particularly before the 20th century, while male scientists would conduct studies that "concluded" that whites are superior to non-whites and that men are superior to women by measuring their brains. Oftentimes, the subjects they studied were unequal in several ways, and their conclusions were not to be trusted at all. The name of the main one escapes my mind at the moment, and I can't believe it -- his studies gave the most ridiculous results ever, all of which were proven false by later studies. He was French. If someone else knows who I'm talking about, please lemme know asap.

Now, Ayub gula, you should consider the flaws in the methodology of the study.

Even if there were no flaws, you should still share the entire article that discusses the study so people get a chance to make their own conclusions.

Consider this, for instance.

Danish researchers have discovered that men, on average, have 4 billion more brain cells than women. But they are stumped as to what men do with them.
The researchers, led by Bente Pakkenberg, a neurologist at Kommune Hospital in Copenhagen, examined the brains of 94 adult corpses -- 62 males and 32 females -- who ranged in age from 18 to 93. The average age for men was 52; for women, 64.
"We started this study 10 years ago, and we collected brain cells from the whole country," says Pakkenberg. "We excluded anyone with any diseases of the central nervous system, as well as anyone who was an alcoholic or who used drugs or anyone who had cancer that had metastasized."
Using what Pakkenberg described as a "new quantitative method" that employed a statistical model, an ordinary microscope and a television screen, she and her colleagues counted the number of neurons found in the cortex of the brain of each of the cadavers. "This new technique allowed us to move down through the [brain] tissue and count in 3-D," explains Pakkenberg. The cortex, the outer layer of brain matter, controls many of the higher nerve centers. "It's the part of the brain that has to do with abstract thinking with fantasizing with speech.... Most of the cortex is dedicated to higher brain function."
The result? The average number of brain cells in men was 23 billion, while the female average was about 19 billion. "There was a 16 percent difference in the count -- almost 4 billion fewer nerve cells in women than in men" says Pakkenberg, whose findings were reported in the Journal of Comparative Neurology. "That really surprised me." She says it's also well-recognized that male brains are heavier than those of females.
Pakkenberg admits she's battled about what the findings mean. "Right now, it's a mystery," she says. "The knowledge we already have shows men are not smarter than women.... The average IQ score comes out the same in males and females."


SOURCE: Bigger doesn't mean better


Remember: Men's brain weighs about 12% more than women's brain, and men's heads are about 2% bigger than women's heads. Question: Does this mean anything? Answer: Not at all. We know that it has nothing to do with intelligence because, as Louis Gratiolet's (French scientist) research findings showed, the brain size of a German is bigger than the brain size of a French man. This was


Also remember that men are larger than women, taller as well as physically stronger. Perhaps that has to do with the brain size, although I'm not sure about this at all.



Now, a study conducted in 2006 claims that men are actually more intelligent than women -- AND that they have a higher IQ than women, contrary to what the above article says in its last sentence.



Men are more intelligent than women, claims new study | Mail Online


Interesting stuff, no?