A genetic perspective on gender, culture, and mathematics performance
Both biological and social scientists have recently commented on the supposed greater variability of males in IQ tests and in mathematical achievement (1). Missing from these discussions is any consideration of possible genetic mechanisms that might be involved. To paraphrase Sir Arthur Eddington, “...
| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | en_US |
| Published: |
United States National Academy of Sciences
2010
|
| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/54713 |
| _version_ | 1811078164587216896 |
|---|---|
| author | Strauss, Bernard S. Strauss, Jacob A. |
| author2 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory |
| author_facet | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory Strauss, Bernard S. Strauss, Jacob A. |
| author_sort | Strauss, Bernard S. |
| collection | MIT |
| description | Both biological and social scientists have recently commented on the supposed greater variability of males in IQ tests and in mathematical achievement (1). Missing from these discussions is any consideration of possible genetic mechanisms that might be involved. To paraphrase Sir Arthur Eddington, “it is a good rule not to put overmuch confidence in the observational results … until they are confirmed by theory.” But there is a theory that accounts for the observed results (2, 3). Given the mechanism of mammalian sex determination and the phenomenon of X inactivation, males will be more variable than females for any traits affected by genes located on the X chromosome. For any number of loci, the male variance is greater than the female by the fraction of loci that are on the X chromosome. If IQ were determined solely by genetic factors, the variance ratio between males and females could take any value between 1 and 2 depending on the proportion of relevant genes found on the X chromosome. The genetic explanation predicts that there should be female mathematicians as talented as any males or female dullards as untalented as any male. All that is required is a sufficiently large sample to permit such individuals to show up. Increased accessibility provides this larger population. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T10:54:46Z |
| format | Article |
| id | mit-1721.1/54713 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| language | en_US |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T10:54:46Z |
| publishDate | 2010 |
| publisher | United States National Academy of Sciences |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/547132022-09-30T23:51:07Z A genetic perspective on gender, culture, and mathematics performance Strauss, Bernard S. Strauss, Jacob A. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Strauss, Jacob A. Strauss, Bernard S. Strauss, Jacob A. Both biological and social scientists have recently commented on the supposed greater variability of males in IQ tests and in mathematical achievement (1). Missing from these discussions is any consideration of possible genetic mechanisms that might be involved. To paraphrase Sir Arthur Eddington, “it is a good rule not to put overmuch confidence in the observational results … until they are confirmed by theory.” But there is a theory that accounts for the observed results (2, 3). Given the mechanism of mammalian sex determination and the phenomenon of X inactivation, males will be more variable than females for any traits affected by genes located on the X chromosome. For any number of loci, the male variance is greater than the female by the fraction of loci that are on the X chromosome. If IQ were determined solely by genetic factors, the variance ratio between males and females could take any value between 1 and 2 depending on the proportion of relevant genes found on the X chromosome. The genetic explanation predicts that there should be female mathematicians as talented as any males or female dullards as untalented as any male. All that is required is a sufficiently large sample to permit such individuals to show up. Increased accessibility provides this larger population. 2010-05-05T15:43:29Z 2010-05-05T15:43:29Z 2009-09 Article http://purl.org/eprint/type/JournalArticle 1091-6490 0027-8424 http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/54713 Strauss, Bernard S, and Jacob A Strauss. “A genetic perspective on gender, culture, and mathematics performance.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 106.37 (2009): E101-E101. © 2009 National Academy of Sciences en_US http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0906806106 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use. application/pdf United States National Academy of Sciences PNAS |
| spellingShingle | Strauss, Bernard S. Strauss, Jacob A. A genetic perspective on gender, culture, and mathematics performance |
| title | A genetic perspective on gender, culture, and mathematics performance |
| title_full | A genetic perspective on gender, culture, and mathematics performance |
| title_fullStr | A genetic perspective on gender, culture, and mathematics performance |
| title_full_unstemmed | A genetic perspective on gender, culture, and mathematics performance |
| title_short | A genetic perspective on gender, culture, and mathematics performance |
| title_sort | genetic perspective on gender culture and mathematics performance |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/54713 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT straussbernards ageneticperspectiveongendercultureandmathematicsperformance AT straussjacoba ageneticperspectiveongendercultureandmathematicsperformance AT straussbernards geneticperspectiveongendercultureandmathematicsperformance AT straussjacoba geneticperspectiveongendercultureandmathematicsperformance |