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Originally Posted by Ken G
I quite agree, which is why I have never done any such thing
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Paracelsus did, and I responded to her. And you (with your brain still full of dopamine after she called you the defender of her gender) decided to argue the point with me. But now you say that you didn't call people who disagree with you sexist? You want to back down? That's fine with me and wise of you.
As far as I'm concerned, if you or anyone else does it again, then that person officially loses the debate, even if the science is on their side. This is my corollary to Godwin's law. Anyone in this forum is free to believe whatever they want, and to argue whatever they want, and if that bothers you so much that you become emotional and revert to calling them sexist, then you lose.
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Originally Posted by Paracelsus
Were there any credible evidence to back up a difference in mathematical ability between genders
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Um yeah, the study that is the subject of this thread found a difference in mathematical ability.
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Originally Posted by Paracelsus
you are defending a false claim of superiority of men over women in mathematics
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Superiority? See, here's your problem Paracelsus. You take this discussion personally. I don't think anybody here believes that a difference indicates superiority.
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Originally Posted by Paracelsus
How would you feel if we started a thread entirely devoted to the 'evidence' (and I use that term advisedly) for females' superiority in reasoning and language abilities (or any other intellectual ability) over males?? Put yourself in my place for a second!!
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I would love to participate in such a thread, and I bet that most BAUT members would enjoy it as well - and nobody will banter around terms like sexist in THAT thread!
Paracelsus, this is going to come as a shock to you, but my ego is not attached to my sex. I'm not on "the male team" and I'm not participating a battle of the sexes. Evolution and biology is incredibly interesting to me and that’s why I’m in this discussion. But I'm an individual. I don't take it personally that the majority of people who happen to share a chromosome with me are disadvantaged in the language department. That doesn't affect *me* at all. It has absolutely no bearing whatsoever on my life, so long as nobody is discriminating against me. It's an interesting question from a scientific standpoint, but it would be very silly and immature of me to link my personal identity to it.
Here, maybe you can understand this. This is an example of a logically parallel issue: Males tend to be taller than women. Should that make me feel superior? Why? I am not "males." I am a male. It turns out, I am below-average height (I'm 175cm, while the average is around 180) So, what does the statistic mean to me, personally? It meant that when the dice were rolled before I was born, I had a chance of being taller. But I'm not. I'm born now and *this* is what I am. Should I cheer for my "team?" I can't imagine why.
However, it is still an interesting issue that I'd like to discuss. I'm interested in science. I'd like to discuss the environmental conditions that led to the evolution of sexual dimorphism. I'm not going to cry about it. I'm not going to call you a sexist if you point out that men tend to be taller. That doesn't make men superior. It's just a fact.