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Old 03-September-2008, 04:29 PM
Disinfo Agent Disinfo Agent is offline
Order of Kilopi
 
Join Date: Apr 2004
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Question

Quote:
Originally Posted by Neverfly View Post
Honestly?
It's really hard to tell!

The discussions swings back and forth where it seems like it's all environment- and I don't find those statements scientific.
Why wouldn't they be scientific? Aren't they based on a straightforward reading of the data?

But I think I understand your confusion. If the variation between individuals is mostly genetic (your assumption, BTW, but I'll accept it provisionally), then how can the variation between groups of individuals (male vs. female) be anything but?

It can. Ken explained how rather well a while ago:

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ken G View Post
I'll try again: when looking at individuals, genetic variations are very important, as are upbringing and cultural influences. But a funny thing happens when you look at a large population, which is that the genetic variances that are so important for individuals get averaged out, thereby mitigating their impact on the population as a whole, whereas the cultural influences do not, because the population as a whole is subject to those same influences.
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