January 24, 2005
DON'T TELL HARVARD:
'Bad' women drivers: hormone link (BBC, 1/24/05)
Map reading and parking may prove difficult for some women because they were exposed to too little testosterone in the womb, researchers suggest.Posted by Orrin Judd at January 24, 2005 12:29 PMThe study, in the journal Intelligence, fuels the age-old male myth that women are deficient in these skills.
Scientists from the University of Giessen, Germany, found a lack of the hormone affects spatial ability.
Low testosterone levels are also linked to shorter wedding ring fingers, they say.
The research looked at the spatial, numerical and verbal skills of 40 student volunteers.
Spatial skill is the ability to assess and orientate shapes and spaces. Map reading and parking are spatial skills which men often say women lack. Women tend to disagree.
"Map reading and parking may prove difficult for some women because they were exposed to too little testosterone in the womb"
Why do they incessantly want to stop and ask directions at convenance stores? High or low estrogen, you think?
Posted by: h-man at January 24, 2005 3:40 PMh-man
Neither. It's wives, not women in general, who do that. It is part of their timeless mission to suggest we aren't as clever as we think and keep us from getting swelled heads.
Posted by: Peter B at January 25, 2005 5:25 AMOn last week's flair-up when Harvard Pres Lawrence Summers talked about female genetic factors .... the astounding development would be data which shows that EITHER genetic OR environmental factors have an insignificant influence. The issue should be "is the RELATIVE significance of genetic:environment in the range of 90:10 or 75:25 or 50:50 or 25:75 or 10:90?" And, do genetic PLUS environment factors account for more than half of the difference(e.g., what other factors are also significant?)
Posted by: LarryH at January 26, 2005 6:49 PM