Re: IQ and Testosterone?

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Larry Caldwell wrote:
>
> > >mycol1@unm.edu (Bryant) wrote:
>
> > >> And MRI data show that
> > >>men and women use different parts of their brains to do the same tasks.
> > >>But I've also seen fine science done by female brains, and agree with you
> > >>that telling women not to bother is unfortunate.
>
> This sort of prejudice only arises from the innumeracy of the general
> public and their inability to understand statistics. Statistical
> knowledge of a population conveys *no* information about an individual
> member of that population. Thus, you have Ada, Lady Lovelace single
> handedly inventing the science of computer programming, a feat that
> could have been accomplished by perhaps only a dozen of the greatest
> mathematical minds in history. If Babbage had managed to build his
> difference engine, Ada Lovelace could have made it run.
>
> The individual is never bound by statistics.
>
> -- Larry

Wow, talk about jumping to conclusions! Which "prejudice" do you
disagree with:

* that "MRI data show that men and women use different parts of their
brains to do the same tasks," or

* "I've also seen fine science done by female brains"

Also, although this is a complete red herring as far as I can tell,
statistical knowledge of a population *does* convey information about an
individual member of that population -- in particular, probabilistic
information. For example, in a race between a tortise and a hare, where
would you put your money? You know nothing of the *particular* tortise
and the *particular* hare, but you have a lot of information about the
likely outcome.

BTW, in my humble opinion the historical role of Ada Lovelace in
inventing the "science" (actually, it's an art) of computer programming
is way overblown. I think it's safe to say that her work had absolutely
no influence whatsoever on it's development, but is merely an
interesting historical footnote. Grace Hopper was a far more
influential figure.

Steve Barnard

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