Case Closed?
Scientific American weighs in on the differences between the male and female brain. The piece is, of course, pegged to Larry Summers and his thoughts on the innate differences between men and women. The conclusion seems to be that while male and female brains turn out to have numerous differences, it's absolutely impossible to say what, if any, real world effect those differences produce, and to suggest that they affect career choice is an extrapolation unsupported by evidence.
Key quote (from this sidebar specifically about Summers): "What does the research say? Evidence linking inequities in anatomy to intellectual ability is hard to come by. For starters, sex differences in performance on standardized tests of general intelligence are negligible, with insignificant differences sometimes favoring women, sometimes favoring men. And although neuroscientists are discovering a multitude of sex-related differences in brain structure and function, no one can at present say whether these differences have any influence on career success in science--or, if they do, how their effect might compare with that of cultural factors."
Summers' remarks at the NBER conference seem increasingly out of the mainstream....
