October 16, 2005

Mind Over Muscle - New York Times

As usual, Brooks is onto something huge and his ability to distill this megatrend into a readable piece is extraordinarily relevant. We do need an honest debate about the differences in the sexes. That Larry Summers was crucified for his attempt suggests that the PC crowd dislikes uncomfortable questions. That makes for lousy science.

While Brooks focuses for the most part on gender differences, we know the differences exists in the ethnic and racial realms. If we truly ask why, are the answers actionable?

"In other words, if we want to help boys keep up with girls, we have to have an honest discussion about innate differences between the sexes. We have to figure out why poor girls who move to middle-class schools do better, but poor boys who make the same move often do worse. We have to absorb the obvious lesson of every airport bookstore, which is that men and women like to read totally different sorts of books, and see if we can apply this fact when designing curriculums. If boys like to read about war and combat, why can't there be books about combat on the curriculum?
Would elementary school boys do better if they spent more time outside the classroom and less time chained to a desk? Or would they thrive more in a rigorous, competitive environment?
For 30 years, attention has focused on feminine equality. During that time honest discussion of innate differences has been stifled (ask Larry Summers). It's time to look at the other half. "

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