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Thread: Academic Activists Send a Published Paper Down the Memory Hole

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    Academic Activists Send a Published Paper Down the Memory Hole

    All for fear of political reactions to the findings.

    Academic Activists Send a Published Paper Down the Memory Hole

    In the highly controversial area of human intelligence, the ‘Greater Male Variability Hypothesis’ (GMVH) asserts that there are more idiots and more geniuses among men than among women. Darwin’s research on evolution in the nineteenth century found that, although there are many exceptions for specific traits and species, there is generally more variability in males than in females of the same species throughout the animal kingdom.

    Evidence for this hypothesis is fairly robust and has been reported in species ranging from adders and sockeye salmon to wasps and orangutans, as well as humans. Multiple studies have found that boys and men are over-represented at both the high and low ends of the distributions in categories ranging from birth weight and brain structures and 60-meter dash times to reading and mathematics test scores. There are significantly more men than women, for example, among Nobel laureates, music composers, and chess champions—and also among homeless people, suicide victims, and federal prison inmates.

    ...I came up with a simple intuitive mathematical argument based on biological and evolutionary principles and enlisted Sergei Tabachnikov, a Professor of Mathematics at Pennsylvania State University, to help me flesh out the model....

    ...Once we had written up our findings, Sergei and I decided to try for publication in the Mathematical Intelligencer, the ‘Viewpoint’ section of which specifically welcomes articles on contentious topics. The Intelligencer’s editor-in-chief is Marjorie Wikler Senechal, Professor Emerita of Mathematics and the History of Science at Smith College. She liked our draft, and declared herself to be untroubled by the prospect of controversy.... With her editorial guidance, our paper underwent several further revisions until, on April 3, 2017, our manuscript was officially accepted for publication.

    ...No sooner had Sergei posted a preprint of our accepted article on his website than we began to encounter problems. On August 16, a representative of the Women In Mathematics (WIM) chapter in his department at Penn State contacted him to warn that the paper might be damaging to the aspirations of impressionable young women....

    ...At a faculty meeting the week before, the Department Head had explained that sometimes values such as academic freedom and free speech come into conflict with other values to which Penn State was committed. A female colleague had then instructed Sergei that he needed to admit and fight bias, adding that the belief that “women have a lesser chance to succeed in mathematics at the very top end is bias.” ...Ominously, “analogies with scientific racism were made by some; I am afraid, we are likely to hear more of it in the future.”
    On it goes until Marjorie Wikler Senechal, who had accepted the paper, then rejected it. She admitted there had been no scientific questions of the finding, just political ones.
    Tradition is not the worship of ashes, but the preservation of fire. ― Gustav Mahler

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    Yet another example of how the progressive left is just if not more "anti-science" than the right.
    Whoever criticizes capitalism, while approving immigration, whose working class is its first victim, had better shut up. Whoever criticizes immigration, while remaining silent about capitalism, should do the same.


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    The progressive left is all about consensus over science.
    Tradition is not the worship of ashes, but the preservation of fire. ― Gustav Mahler

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    Quote Originally Posted by Chris View Post
    The progressive left is all about consensus over science.
    Or when there is no consensus they're all about lies and slander.
    Whoever criticizes capitalism, while approving immigration, whose working class is its first victim, had better shut up. Whoever criticizes immigration, while remaining silent about capitalism, should do the same.


    ~Alain de Benoist


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    Notwithstanding the conclusions of the above study, there have been many recent studies that have concluded that women's lesser achievements in mathematics and science in general stems from anxiety about math that is communicated to female students by female teachers in elementary school. This is apparently exacerbated in higher grades by differential treatment of boys in math classes vs females which tends to discourage females from continuing to take math classes beyond the first two years of high school. Unfortunately, the perpetuation of stereotypes is largely responsible for this phenomenon. Stereotypes in general, may also be responsible for the dichotomy in male achievement encouraging studiousness in more passive males and lowering expectations for academic achievement in more aggressive and athletic males. The smart nerd and dumb jock stereotype. Then there is the subtle expectation of bad behavior in boys. Hence the expression "boys will be boys". We can also not overlook factors like disparity in wealth and the educational background of parents and what that does to expectations.
    In quoting my post, you affirm and agree that you have not been goaded, provoked, emotionally manipulated or otherwise coerced into responding.



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    Quote Originally Posted by Dr. Who View Post
    Notwithstanding the conclusions of the above study, there have been many recent studies that have concluded that women's lesser achievements in mathematics and science in general stems from anxiety about math that is communicated to female students by female teachers in elementary school. This is apparently exacerbated in higher grades by differential treatment of boys in math classes vs females which tends to discourage females from continuing to take math classes beyond the first two years of high school. Unfortunately, the perpetuation of stereotypes is largely responsible for this phenomenon. Stereotypes in general, may also be responsible for the dichotomy in male achievement encouraging studiousness in more passive males and lowering expectations for academic achievement in more aggressive and athletic males. The smart nerd and dumb jock stereotype. Then there is the subtle expectation of bad behavior in boys. Hence the expression "boys will be boys". We can also not overlook factors like disparity in wealth and the educational background of parents and what that does to expectations.
    I suggest, based on the study, that placing men above women in math (or anything) is stereotyping.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Chris View Post
    I suggest, based on the study, that placing men above women in math (or anything) is stereotyping.
    Indeed, but my criticism of the study in question is that the conclusions, at least in respect of the human species, may be flawed due to the influences of certain persistent sociological factors. IOW, the nature vs nurture question.
    In quoting my post, you affirm and agree that you have not been goaded, provoked, emotionally manipulated or otherwise coerced into responding.



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    Quote Originally Posted by Dr. Who View Post
    Indeed, but my criticism of the study in question is that the conclusions, at least in respect of the human species, may be flawed due to the influences of certain persistent sociological factors. IOW, the nature vs nurture question.
    I'll respond when you demonstrate those suspicions. Mere personal skepticism isn't an argument.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Chris View Post
    I'll respond when you demonstrate those suspicions. Mere personal skepticism isn't an argument.
    I already referenced certain studies that conclude that female underachievement in math and science is adversely influenced by stereotyping. That is not personal skepticism.

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...=.54a22dc70292
    https://mashable.com/2017/01/26/girl.../#25yFNrSBzsq2
    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3057475/
    http://archive.news.indiana.edu/rele...-threats.shtml
    https://www.newscientist.com/article...orse-at-maths/
    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3970474/
    https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucele.../#278d321b757e
    In quoting my post, you affirm and agree that you have not been goaded, provoked, emotionally manipulated or otherwise coerced into responding.



    "The difference between what we do and what we are capable of doing would suffice to solve most of the world’s problems.”
    Mahatma Gandhi

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    But that is not what this study is about. The OP study demonstrates males are both over- and under-achievers, with females in the middle. It too disputes the finding of previous studies, not with speculation, but with data.
    Tradition is not the worship of ashes, but the preservation of fire. ― Gustav Mahler

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