Wednesday, February 21, 2007

Does Size Really Matter?

In Stephen Jay Gould's "Women's Brains" he talks about how a scientist by the name of Broca explains that women's brains are smaller then that of a white male, which would make them inferior to men.

I agree with Gould when he says that he believes that "Broca's numbers to be sound but his interpretation ill-founded". No one right now can exactly say whose brain is really bigger, due to size and weight, and what causes brain growth, but to say that women are inferior to males just because their brain may be a little smaller is wrong.

Many women have succeeded far beyond many males in education. They tend to do better in school then most males. women may seem to have a smaller mind but the facts now seem to show a different story. Women are able to comprehend and understand things better then males, true that women are a more careful when speaking out, unlike males who just say things and do not make it seem like a question. But women are able to understand and break things down unlike many males can.

I am not saying that women are superior to men or vica versa, I am just trying to explain that women may have a smaller brain but that does not prove exactly that they are inferior.

And who knows future tests may prove different things and our technology may seem inferior then but for now I agree with Gould that women may have smaller brains but that does not make them inferior.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think that women are as smart as men even with a little brain. Many women in this world have succeded successfully and have become very important women. I think that wether women or men become successful in life and become smarter in life depends on their education not on their brain size.

Anonymous said...

I think that women are just as smart as men even though some may say that women have a smaller brain.

I feel that a man and a woman have the same advantages whenit comes to education it just depends on how they use it.

Anonymous said...

I agree with what everyone has said so far. Just because my brain is smaller than a mans it doesn't hinder my intelligence.

I think intelligence depends on how much curiosity a person has about the world and the components that make it.I mean,without curiousity things like electricity and the phone wouldn't have been discovered/invented.

Men may have stronger abilities but that doesn't mean women don't have the same ability we just can't express it as well.

Anonymous said...

women are just as smart as men, regardless of brain size. we are humans, not dinosaurs. Our advantages are the same in education, it's not like men get wires hooked to their brains to inject intelligence.

Anonymous said...

I think that men's brains are bigger because of the same reason their muscles are bigger. I learned to in another class that since men have more testosterone their muscles get bigger, because it is a growth hormone. Anyways I think this might be the reason, but this, in no way, means that men are more intelligent than women.

Anonymous said...

"More or bigger isn't always better."

That's a phrase my mom always told me when I was trying to make a project when I was little.

I agree completely with what everyone's said; that women are just as smart as men.

Natural intelligence will vary from person to person, according to their pattern of thought, not their sex. Learned intelligence can vary just as much, based on patterns of thought, not sex.

Anonymous said...

I agree with you Lyzetth. I believe that it is the individual that becomes successful. It does not matter if you are male or female if someone wants something in life bad enough they will have the drive to succede.

Anonymous said...

I also agree with you Latasha women and men do have the same advantages when it comes to educaion so how can it be said that women are not as smart as men. Both men and women are capable of being smart. So it is not right for anyone to say that women are inferior to men because the size of their brains.

Anonymous said...

I agree with latasha also. Women are just as educated as males. Males and females have their strength and weakness, but that do not make one inferior to the other.

I am still in disbelief that women's brains are smaller than men. When he did the observation he used more men then women. So that is not fair and could have an effect on the results.

Anonymous said...

This could just be one of those instances where science doesn't explain or finish the job. I mean, there have also been studies that mens' brains are larger, have a larger storage base, that womens' brains process information faster, have faster retrival and can access more parts of their brain. Intelligence can only be based in the person's ability to use it to its best. You can hold Excalibur, but if you can't use it, then you are bound to chop one of your own limbs off.