More (or less) Gray Matter
I guess this was predictable. As I mentioned last week, there was a study showing a difference in gray/white matter proportions between the sexes. Seemed pretty academic since the conclusion was that form didn’t determine function, at least much. Well Lawrence Summers, President of Harvard and former Clinton cabinet member, just threw gas on the fire, using such evidence to speculate that this difference in brain form may explain the dearth of women in the sciences. Now all hell has broken out about it.
Anyway, here’s the NYTimes attempt at a balaced look at the question of form vs. function: Gray Matter and Sexes: A Gray Area Scientifically.