Myth of the male and female minds. Bookstore is packed full of its series, is in full scream right now. It was a very exciting Upcoming Events. You had to harvard. Com and find out how our weekly email newsletter about these upcoming talks including with Jennifer Bloch on october 2nd, the discussion of her new book, everything below the waist. While healthcare needs a feminist resolution. Revolution. We also have Upcoming Events with natalie klein, jodi kantor and megan and joe collins and many more and we would love to see you there. Todays program will conclude with some questions after which we will have a book signing right here at this table. We also have copies of gender in her brains, availableforsale the register in the up next room. And we are pleased to have cspan2 news book tv here taping tonight news event. When asking questions, during the q a, please know that your questions will be recorded. And please wait a moment for the microphones to be passed to you before asking your question. As always, i just want to take those moment to thank you for buying books from harvard bookstore. Years purchases support this awardwinning author series. And they really do assure the local bookstore in the future. Finally just one less reminder to silence your cell phones before the talking begins. So now i am very pleased to introduce tonight speaker, as in americas professor of neural imaging at the rain center at essen university, the research is the use of stateoftheart brain imaging techniques to investigate developmental disorders and of course, demolish sexist myths. She was made an honorary fellow of the British Science Association in 2015, for her contributions to the public news communication of science. Shes also member of the inspiring the future initiative along with the wise and the science girls, and it is part of the European Union gender equality network. Tonight she will be discussing her new book, gender and her brains, hailed as a mustread for parents and teachers and anyone of either compared and with children. In the guardian, it is highly accessible book and also an important one. Quite apart from how interesting the science within any has the power and the only people would read it to do vastly more for gender equality than any number of mitt gender manifestoes. We are delighted to host this event here tonight. Please join me in welcoming gina griffin. [applause]. Thank you and welcome everybody. As kate said, the book, ive actually written a book in the uk let the u. S. Publishes for some reason decided americans couldnt cope in term of a gender. So as a nation, we its been a lot time so i was quite surprised. Love max of the book in code gender operating. And secondly, it is really an investigation as to help brains get to be different. In fact i wasnt interested in the differences aspects to start with. Im a researcher as she mentioned. And often communicated is the statement which she read, if youve met one person with autism, you met one person with autism. So theres a whole range of different brains vastly different and also in some aspects. How the different brains gets to be different is what i want to know. Are we just looking at the unfolding of a templin or are there other factors at work which we took should take into account. Then also a good place to start is similarly no there is a wellestablished difference pretty reliable difference. And also the last hundred 50 nearly 200 years, the fact that there are differences in the brain brain. Theres a membrane and a female brain they are very different and very distinct. And having got that way, theres a whole load of other consequent this. On a look at that, and put the research into that. And it started to give me a clue on how it brings it to be different. As you will see, as i will talk about through the rest of the talk, the old idea really wont i got to it, i felt quite a reliable as i thought it was. Not quite. I started to unpack the chain arguments and actually proved unpopular when i started talking about it in writing about it. Theres a fairly conservative newspaper in the uk called the daily telegraph. One said a word said it smacked the feminism. I love the idea of being interesting equality is somehow a perverse think. [laughter]. Anyway on the perverse practice. [laughter]. Just switch that off now. [laughter]. Sorry about that. [laughter]. I did press the button. Really, trying to unpacked is this very simple, very straightforward wellestablished chain of arguments about the male and the female brain. That is what kind of determination of the can i call differences between males and females. Given that we started this chain about 200 years ago. Wont he got to that. , theres some kind of things it could be used very obvious differences between males and females. In different bodies. Whatever that process was, and also gave some different range. The female body, you had a female rain, and that link was firm and unbroken. The mill body, he had a membrane. With those two different kinds of brains, there will different kind of rains its important to hang onto. Came to two different kind of skill sets. In temperament since skill sets or whatever. Yet it female brain, you are not good at maps. If you know brain you had high level listening and understanding emotions. With the skill sets, arising from the rains came particular role. The brain they gave you empathy met you will wellsuited for a caring profession buried in the brain to give you this kind of spatial cognition, with the rain and if you could indeed be a leader of man are a winner of the nobel prize etc. I am slightly characterizing the character in it but we do look at some of the early literature, has brought that much is the stereotype in itself. So its really not that im trying to unpack particular this previous predetermined care. Also need to remind you that in term and gender in themselves are kind of big unbaked u. S. It used to be the idea that being a biological was so firmly attached to your social genet. He only need it one more. So all of these processes will about differences. Another seems to be part have reversed itself. So now its all gender differences. That is something you might like to talk a bit about. So what we have adapted was an argument which said its violent she is destiny. Suggested two different times of brains of birth they had a membrane which was slightly larger. And welcome back to to that. Fiori had skills necessary for the adult employee and their in live. And as the brain develops, got more of these necessary skills and while this way. Eventually, your brain would we do nobel prize or make you even perhaps a prime minister. Given the space of the uk in the system. [laughter]. Okay, otherwise you had a pink rain. It smaller. Doesnt necessarily with any of the slightly will in cognitive skills. The role this brain was to be a womanly companion to man. Let the rain got bigger but again, it didnt necessarily have too many of these, with the kind of unfortunate skills that might weaken the week productive process. It used to be the case that clearly viewed women as inferi inferior. Since a bit rude. But effectively they were different. There arises a brain was pretty emotionally made. Was interested in pink and being a princess etc. Again characterizing it in the idea was two types of brains. A female brain and a membrane and that was biologically determined and then explain all of the other gender gaps or what have you and what you are interested in the world. And in society. So effectively, a little task, treat main questions i really need to look at. What is wrong with this research. It had been quite early on these firm statements will actually not based on that very reliable evidence. So first of all, basic question. , will come back to that. The rain. Do we have a female rain for membranes. Or all brains either pink or blue or in fact, 50 shades of gray matter. Thats actually what i want to call it but they wouldnt let me. [laughter]. And think it wouldbe serious enough. We need to know what we come from. This nature of us is nurture. We look at the biology tablet which in unfolds or actually we look at some kinds of differences that can be determined by the demands of society. Actually thought to look into that. But that in itself, wellestablished question that people aspirated thought actually it could well be asked. Are we looking at is it too much more complicated person. And finally, do these differences, if there are any over the come from, means to the brain center. Do we have people are exercising our mark victimizing or come from wild or mars or venus or preferring people to see, map reading or multitasking skills, and those method very firmly on whether you are male or female. This will ask elaine the kind of gender gaps of this research is about. Okay, this is the very old question. It didnt used to be a question. It was a statement. Mens brain was different from womans brain. It was really at the end of the 18th century beginning of the 19th century, that the emerging neurology as he said, melt brains responses in which to explain the scotus quo. There are some things that investigate the brain, and at this stage we really cut it really wicked only look at rains are damaged brains. But you couldnt see what was going on. So they took us to scotus quo and effectively, as you can see from these charming statements, from when it was established, the Brain Research at the time, and very particular view of the population. Employment represent human revolution and a process of children. And then the adult civilized man. Im not staying that that kind of thinking still informs Research Today but carry in mind that that is where it started from. A very firm indifference agenda. The early scientists will trying to show that women will inferior. And there was a whole array of being weird sort of different metrics which will devised in his telling the school with with birdseed and then weighing it and then they would guess how big the brain was. Womens brains will 5 ounces lighter than mens. This is excitement in the Research World at the time. To find the answered. Men work more intelligence because they bigger brains. Women will inferior because the worst fault smaller. And they talked about sperm whales and elephants had bigger brains. But they were not generally looked at as being more intelligent than a human man. Cranial g then a strange technique involving all source of scope measurements. The two slide thousands if you can believe it. This metric was very clear. It was to improve and it didnt affect with racial issues. White upperclass, educated males will at the top of whatever scale you devised and then children and then lower class uneducated and then of the races. So its an interesting insight and we always assume the metrics that we are using to inform research, objective and been well tested and reliable a solid and then again im not staying that is the era of cranial aegean birdseed measurements but it is important to remember that sometimes the story that the metrics tell, arent not objective. There are actually informing the possibly of politically informed agenda. Right. So those questions are the questions that will still interested in today. And thirdly, i know from looking at the near information that theres some report of the tiny wisp of the different, perhaps buried in a whole array of different things. But thats what we get focused on. If a couple of weeks the popular press, will be full of headlines like mens and womens brains set to increase our profit last. Women and men are born to be different. Theyre still very important and does. Thats why been called names in the press because it affects a gender. Im attacking. You dont get this buddy has a bigger study that shows actually theres not much difference between the race. Only the headlines it says in us, the truth we know that mens and womens brains are not that different. Thank you. And strangely enough. Remember that all of the story about rains and how they made men and women different, before it could actually see brains, we didnt really have a good idea of how brains work. The 1990s, actually not is it too long ago come these images, they get so addictive that we think it been around for a long time but these images in fact, maybe for my left, you could look at different structures in the brain. You can make it difference agenda. Scientist did that. The whole size matters issues of these characteristics of this area of debate. Nuts how i got into brains as well. You could look at given different test. The different between males and females. At different skills. And activities. So these images will very important. In actually understanding how the brain works. Its a fantastic opportunity to really go back to questions like are there male and female brains. In investigate quite carefully. Actually what happened was the initial impetus, the findings and the differences continued. So this work, continues to hug the differences in the campaigns and comparing male and female brains. There was another problem with these images. The look as though we will real time window into the brain is visible with the invisible was made visible etc. People didnt really realize that these are very complex images which dont necessarily represent the individual pattern of brain activity as a result of the huge amount of manipulation. Those colors are actually the colors in the rain, there are actually a way of coding the things that you found pretty those also reflect different things. So they did have produced an excitement in a whole array of research. There was a phrase in the beginning of the century, nero is the new black. I only have been near at the beginning of anything, nero literature, and became much more contemporary and exciting. It looked as though we had just understood the brain start to apply the understanding towards different issues. What happens if we got away the books to get on the sand wagon and see about the difference between males and females. Purchasing the men are from mars and women are from venus. Just think, if you like adopt these images, also that went out actually going is it too much detail about what theyre showing, and you can largely illustrate that selfhelp books and come to conclusion. Again teach Students Research methods, but this book in particular, the bookshop will not will carry it. Its an amazing example of how you can make use of neuroscience research. Full of statements about the near science has shown and its in the quotation and research an example, women use language much more than males and have different characteristics about particular language. In the no responses show if you dont back into the back of the book and check your references. You find actually this research was being done on songbirds. You might actually learn a lot about songbirds but then applying that to males and females patch was a bit of a stretch. So the big worry that these kind of books that i uncannily am tracking. [laughter]. Actually give is talking one of the authors on one of the books that identify the origin spread left back that the questions will interesting at the end but i have to see i will stand by it. I think these books are an insult. Actually sustain stereotypes it strengthens them. They have a source of credibility. Continue the difference agenda. The make very clear statements which i would claim are bit misleading. It wouldbe an essential difference in before where the idea was essential about large any number of people, perhaps not targeting areas but a number of people and said what you think essential me they would probably see it. We have to have it. The essential difference carries a different message on ambiguous message if you like. This is the bit like Autism Research might be but also, have things to see about differences which i dont necessarily agree with. So these bookstores for the statements of the female brain so there is one. And is hardwired and designed for empathy. In the male brain is hardwired to understanding systems. A very clear statement. They forum in the book, the kind of passing comment that you dont have to be a woman to have a female brain are meant to have a membrane. In this what you think, do you know that language matters in this area. You really have to be careful of what you see because people have children in our teachers, lawyers etc. And therefore sustaining these kind of stereotypes you can see thats not really what amount so just. This out. Something that we need to be careful about. Although we now have direct access to the human brain, theres still a distance agenda being played out and still firm statements about differences in the rain. I would also. Out very basic questions in the first month that i was asking. Are there differences in the brain how big are they. Then we had a quick look at three search literature and we had thousands of your response papers. You see differences in the adult human brain are various statements like that. The great stairs. Fantastic techniques interesting data. Let the focus is about finding differences. Going to these different large numbers of interesting ones and the ones being reported on always in the minority. Its also the case if use source or all of these papers yes they find differences, but strangely they are in different parts of the brain. One will see that males have a bigger michaela, and we prove this with 5000 measures. Another one april come out and see weve looked at all of these and we havent found any difference between this at all. However we have found a different difference. So those difference are being reported practice is it neuroscientist, who done of research and theres still no conflicted patterns of numbers which reliably distinguish these writings from millwrights from female night might be old to have pretty good gas in determining what the task was in clear indication about the size of the brain is and so forth. There is a difference in on average, is what this is about mens brains are about 10 percent bigger than womens. That is actually, because in that range, about 10 percent bigger than women. They have bigger hearts and livers and kidneys but i dont a nudge in if i stand corrected, i dont think there will be differences in the liver for example. The other think again is sometimes overstate the case that they find so they find difference, they get these kind of differences in structural connection. But you also find the necessary report of a tiny proportion of the home measures they took. Was a wellknown study that was looked upon an infected sort of had been a public understanding. As a firm statement. Researchers themselves have seen news results is the there are some differences in the structural picture of the brain. But actually did it. It did show that there will some characteristic patterns of wiring between males and females and males appear to have stronger anterior posterior. In the right or the female headstrong pathway between the lights and the lessons is for but these are Something Like hundred and 34 different pathways first this 795,000 different comparisons. Still, the importance of not denying. Its another think that ive been called in the more think is the difference layer. The Climate Change denier. Same consequence. There are differences in the brain but they are very timely and i think the story behind it and the emphasis on those differences, we really need to look at. This particular, this is something thats an important take the kind of differences we are talking about a very tiny. And again the use of the word different. Distinct. You seen the characteristics which are reliably a templin. Templeton membrane a tablet for the female brain. Youll find that the males and females huge variable that is a wheeling group and you get this sort of bellshaped curve and if you put the data of the two together. There huge amount of overlap. This is in fact the biggest difference of the particulate difference. The focus is always on the average difference here. Which statistically it is significant. The word you need to look at it. But ignores the fact that we got this huge barrier here. Surprised me if its a male or female, but a huge amount of ability. The focus is on the tiny differences here. Its always important to remember that the different supporters, when these of the actually kind of differences we are talking about and if you think about it, it seems that its not so useful to know whether mens or your participant is male or female. If you want to guess how other going to do the spatial cognition task or how big their immaculate will be. Its important to remember as well. So anything to this issue and this is really where it gets the dive. Trying to see different ways of the brain and how the brain works. Help me remember it. Its the 3t news here. Our brains are protective. It is when they are a person. Theyre more like a system. Will even unveil that are brains are an amazing system. They were receiving that information in effect, and driving things appropriately. What we now know as the brain is actually quite proactive. It evolves in the world, gathering rules and making predictions is quite scary to be thinking that we are being driven by the world who we are actually guessing at. What that facial thanks christian might mean the conversation might mean. Generally blankets let the important think to remember is that this is generating his nose by looking the outside world. We need to be very careful at understanding and what is in the outside world to inform those roles. The other think on the second pretty is our flames are plastic plastic in terms of flexible and mobile. The multiple they make different kinds of connections. And you can see how those connections actually formed. New Development Plan for as we had early on in live, and that was in. The rain didnt change. Unfortunately because the other side of that place. And it started disappearing. We now know that the spaces that we have changed the brain. All the experiences that we dont have, will change the brain. Which of course the basis for differences that might emerge. The study here wellknown study, taxi drivers where they have to do this an amazing feat of spatial memory. They have to memorize 20000 streets within 6 miles. Its a useful bit of information you have we do get into a cab. So they track these individuals before they started this task and takes three or four years on average six years for some people Homeless People fell similar to the brain to these individuals before they started to learn they looked out ones past knowledge and actually practicing the taxi drivers. Interesting the look for retired and are no longer taxi drivers they shared that parts of the brain associated with vigil spatial association changed her knowledge and the change disappeared wont they retire. So demonstrated that her brains are plastic for our lives. Taxi drivers is an example. Also with playing misuse musical instruments. Chuckling for interesting. You dont have to be struggling with that. You take them before they learn and then you can see how the brain changes but again that means our brains are being changed by external experiences. The final pretty is permeable. Our brains are quite sensitive. The social context of the task. As a social psychology which has to be oh overin terms the way it changes behavior. Clearly demonstrated, so that if you give in this case good to women, if they give them a special test, very good with it but i just want to see what happens on a pajama scanner. In the other give them a positive message. Women are very good at what happens. So at the same task, the patterns mirror those messages to family negative message they make more mistakes. But positive message they make significantly less mistakes. But interestingly, the appropriate areas of the brain are activated and focusing at the task at hand and make fewer errors on the positive message of message. The negative message, will come back to this later, is much more to do with looking at mistakes or emotional processing. So exactly the same task that the social context is different. An actual change how the brain works. Okay moving on. Sorry complicated brain diagrams. Its really just to demonstrate. This kind of the core message of the book. Just need to be aware that her brains evolved not to just make cognitive and safely and that we can continue solve problems we can be scientists are. His spring learn languages, this prefrontal cortex, is associated with that emergent skill. So we have cognitive superiority but we also have essential ones. That cognitive brain is also associated with the fact that human beings are very social creatures. We have large numbers of social networks. When many bigger social networ networks. We solve problems collaboratively. We have social scripts. We can migrate other people. We know what you want might be thinking we can anticipate their thoughts from our conversation can develop appropriately. Having social is very powerful human drive. And its also in the same way will of the parts of the human activity, we like to think where superior in terms of this. And having told not to be driven by basic Human Emotions. Our basic Human Emotion to still drive these processes. In our perceptions is still affected by the release and exultation, positive and negative. Our social behavior is also affected by whether or not we have possible social or negative feedback. This is my favorite part brain. This the rain i look at millie in my research. Its called the interior. Its a bit like a system or railway. System. Look at stars. It bridges this very highly evolved processing system. Another less evolved brother driving system and really make sure that there is a kind of careful balance between the two. His main role actually is inhibitory. Is to see if you get negative feedback only make best day, one of the task is recommit some kind of social hope are fully rejected by so your required the group that you want to belong to, you behave quite strongly anything you give is important to remember. Again, is now in the outside world function and behavior and again im about to see that this system works in my lap which is looking for some of the work made his work here, is looking at social processes. Looking at the consequence of social failure. Seeing being rejected by a group you belong to. What will detail but involves very simple games and is it too little cartoon figures. Then you come in as the third party figure and they throw the ball team that that all this and they stop and is having the ball thrown in watching something in your enjoying it. Truly annoying. I know this is the videogame. [laughter]. Get the measure of selfesteem. It is actually affected at a very simple loophole. Soon scan room actually looks is happening in the outside world with your rejected reason. Similarly if your selfesteem is affected by some kind of feedback, or if you are in a particular social hierarchy. You will see patterns. If you are the kind of person and you make mistakes and blame yourself. As opposed to self reassuring we see, we should never really tried to do that. Was this one will be no wonder i cant get the job because i made so many sticks in my live etc. These are all social processes will the involved assessments and myself in relationship to other people. These areas have activity are my favorite little traffic live system. So these kinds of behaviors do need these brain changes do need to change the behavior the monitoring this on here. Move on quickly. These changes in behavior, not detail but some of them can be pathological. You have individuals where that brain activity is associated with low selfesteem and they have four selfimage. Very sensitive to being rejected by the group we want belong to. No high levels of anxiety and have kind of a behavioral withdrawal pattern which is called self balancing work they disengage the situation and decide not to carry on being involved. So hang on to those effects of negative a social processing and above the brain and behavior. Last part of this is when does the software. Something which we affected the horn up and we wanted to be part of the social world or does it start very early. But suggesting that we should be looking very early. This is one of the things account when i was writing the book. Worked with Young Children leading up to an adult. About how it works at this. With a very tiny baby a newborn. This is some of the equipment that we can continue use in the lab with e. G. The newborn babies. So this whole of adults and damage and disease brains, we didnt know much about maybe brains into the last 20 years or so. These we didnt have access. We know this kind of information. One of the things that i found again with my work in looking at the list. Was human babies, are dependent and helpless for much longer than the younger of any other species. This of the babies will pretty reactive to just information on that they were helpless. Usually describes in some cases. What is becoming clear from a very clever Development Psychologist not me let the work theyre doing, is that in this world with a little socialized in a quivering away. The picking up on social cues. Right from the beginning right from birth. Recognizing faces and images and within hours of work. Unable to distinguish the nativelanguage from another language within weeks of birth. They are picking up already imported cues in the outside world. As you look at the kind of longerterm development, one of the important social cues they respond to and its been a long time processing is the agenda. The differences between boys and girls in males and females. Very early on in the first two years are starting to respond to unusual patterns of behavior the stray pictures of oh man putting on lipstick babies world. Quite unusual and then you put lipstick on a tiny heart and later on, i call him junior agenda detectives. The very keen on the boy and with boys still in with the girl still parade the police the dressing of the fox in that nursery. The girls, cant wear and boy scout where trs etc. And later on, the actually than most people realize, we see what we saw dinner compliance. No mention that briefly. But by that stage the children are on the go this is what i do will fail to do that because of the way think thats a girl think. And this is set in live and trained very early on in live. So these are like social challenges. The completion of all of this, is that we need to look at the world as a brain influencer. Need to see and look at and how are racing to get different we must be looking at things but we also need to be aware this very profound influences on the brink from the outside world. This is where i started to look at stereotypes. I have to stop here because were looking at the whole pink and blue issue. But i just give you some quick examples to see if we think the world is the brain influencer, and will interested in differences between male and female brains, to be the sum of those differences come from the different experiences that have the outside world. Numbering in mind talking about very tiny babies being social sponges, our test right here. Early introduction to the notion that it really cope balancing now differences important. Generate bill parties. I have a section in my book ive never heard of them. I was actually looking for to be careful of this. That vastly. [laughter]. Its a baby girl or boy card and peekaboo. I will go into details but hopefully will be down soon. [laughter]. The 20 weeks before the baby rear arrives the world, their already being into is it pink or blue. She will be touring, because of the way the blue confetti etc. And im not staying, these wouldbe in the New York Times that having agenda reveal parties would change your baby news brain necessarily but it does mean that the parents are focusing very much on whether its a boy or girl profound changes of consequence, we dressed boys and girls differently. From what unwise baby girl. Lets not go into that. We have differences, the coloring books and etc. F course the whole toy debate. And am involved in an Organization Called toys and im sure you have same over here. Just give us a we get away from the pink and blues because a girl, blues boy and girls have dolls and toy kitchens and boys and really exciting created toys. And at this. I want to see that this is a very good case study of showing what we thought was a difference actually turns out to be Something Else. This is the facial difference. I mentioned earlier that idea the men have superior facial skills. This is the kind of talk that the plastic task. Representation of the three dimensional figure in essay are these two figures the same etc. Any rotation you sorta have to take the first picture and rotate it in your head and says at the same or one of the arms pointing the other direction. Its really hard. And i have to see stereotypically, really bad at it. But i am brilliant at parallel parking so just shows. [laughter]. Carlo park again in public but again okay i think this is something which is being held really robust difference. Its not just the psychological interest. There also being appointed the basics of the difference of women in another area im involved in. This is the basics of scientific skills the idea is men are better even if on average to be these kind of skills, scientists and this not thats why theres not many females to be scientists. About two years ago, actually to whole spatial measurement, large amount of females found on average, significant difference with males being better. They said the scope back to our population and see, kind of spatial training opportunities have you had. Construction toys as a child or hobbies which involved construction. Was subject to city now and what kind of experience is that we had. And it generates this spatial differences. The differences disappear they found that women had as much spatial training experiences the man, her performance was very much the same period of man had little spatial experience, his performance is the same as a woman rated so very nice example of where the differences are that if we look a bit at the back story of Something Else going on. If you look at the fact that these kind of games videogames legos, very good spatial training opportunity, talks in schools we can see the teachers in the back when i sit videogames are fantastic spatial training opportunities. I let them know that. [laughter]. So there are differences in spatial opportunities. I would see being aware of the time, need to move on along this cut. Five minutes. [laughter]. Do i think there are actually different spatial training opportunities in the world boys and girls. This is characterizing that. But okay. This is kind of a leg of the girls. Thank friends a breastplate legos set what is like to do. They produce legal friends should bits of legos. Find me feel elation. The with the inmate was later with friends and verdicts and things like hairdressing and no colors etc. The differences might be best. This is stem barbie. Direct representation. They that they would have the solution. They said they could use engineer barbie. Sleep got very short left coat and even shorter miniskirts. And dna patterns on it. [laughter]. Very high heels is it too. [laughter]. Anyway so we have barbie as you be things and what can engineer barbie mate. She can make a pink washing machine. [laughter]. Or a pink julie carousel for shield wardrobe or something. Perhaps we might particularly stereotypically female object. So my example much the world can actually give two groups of people to different kinds kinds of training opportunities is quite profound. Ive only got five minutes i will list the rest of them which is just. Out that we might know that things in attitudes and expectations can also change the brain. And ive talked a bbc program about two years ago which was actually looking at stereotypes. Seven yearold, before measuring selfesteem in children, believe in what they could do in the future and very skills they had. And then taking everything stereotypical out of the classroom and telling the teacher and calling the girls sweet tea in the voice mate. Generally its time to treat these children the same. This wasnt deliberate. It was unconscious. Then blue cover for boys notes and pink for girls. Sitting at the childrens normal ones and the kids could hang their coats however the war wherever they wanted. Let the. Is this and another consistent message that you belong to a different tribe the person that is but there. Maybe the one in the blue cover. We know from the teaches girls and boys, in different ways. Showing that he actually had quite profound effects. In respective size of family or class or social economic was a very profound effect on who chose to be scientists later. Children i can take a choice between task and again to really clever people or people actually party, girls will very likely to reject the toys because they didnt feel that they the kind of people who are really clever. A united yearold girl staying things like this avoiding. Im going to get a mask. His homegirl and girls dont do that. Consequences of that, for example in science is clear. One of the times, it just reminds me talking about the direct expectation of women. Theres a big argument that may greet will actually at some kind of different availability anything there is some kind of imperative the minute much more accurately that of the sacred. Effectively said the google was wasting his time on divesting because the distribution in the abilities of men and women differ in part. Due to biological causes. Someone of the great examples of alltime, time, charles darwin, was one of the biggest of all time im afraid. Really believed women will inferior. Any Statement Like that, locate 200 years. We have moved on. Let the statements will made in the last 15 years. So there is an attitude and then expectation is no, the brain can change Information Processing differently depending on the attitudes and expectations that counted. Okay ill move on from that. Just to remind you that this is how the crown can change. Unnecessarily because of the template but being exposed to different eggs variances and attitudes and expectations. We come back for three questions. Are there any good i dont think that any such think as a female brain our membrane. Think there are differences between brains. I think every brain is different from every other brain. But the differences have been overplayed with the last hundred and 50 years. We need to visit. And one of the come from. Think its a twoway relationship between the brain and his world. Its not nature or nurture. Then we now have people to show how how the brain is changing with the world. We could well have people who are better and with huizinga system rising who perhaps not necessarily come from mars or venus but who knows. We do prefer people at better at map or multitasking but maybe those differences very little to do with the actual biological more to do with the kind of experiences theyve had. Maybe those differences arise as much from how you treated the belief in the ruler of you. Okay you need to remember to take those message one, we have this kind of essential pathway i think we also need to acknowledge that brain doesnt pass to the world in a vacuum. It has ulcers of different experiences so agenda world a gendered brain. And this is the really nice signature to all of these amazing images these figures drown here. Everybodys rate is attached to the world. I think you have to remember that the brains reflect the lives they lived not just the sexes therein. Same choice. We need to stick with the idea the boys will be boys and we shouldnt mess around socially for generic etc. And that means allowing yourself that men are from mars and women are from venus. I shouldnt be is it too lighthearted in it. This is very important. Theres a different way of viewing the world you understand everybodys brain is attached to the world. Students tend to be social justice warriors. I will sap to see if this works. [laughter]. Look at that. We have a last picture. [laughter]. That is me. Thank you very much. [applause]. Catherine sounds as you mentioned, nobel prize and just wanted to remind the audience that carry 12 and her daughter 11. This three for the girls. But in general, the same token, you have to be nominated and think a lot of times, men tend to nominate men instead of women. Event radioactivity and then worked in the same lab is on. He won the nobel prize in chemistry. She will nothing. She was nominated i think 57 times for the nobel prize. She was not given it. As a different issue. Sorry your question. Double helix,. [inaudible conversation] [inaudible conversation] okay. One interesting. Of the game of chess at the highest loophole. Just as ratings and there is a certain tradition ratings with mayor better or higher in the World Champion mail. Its interesting to note that the woman to be a last woman on the list, the womans list, could beat 90 united percent of the general population. Yes, i think thats an important issue. I think sometimes they sit whatever it is an inconvenience that the evidence knew better in some particular areas than women. I wouldnt deny that but i think you need to look at the opportunity. For example, talked about women work much good at chess because their brains will acquired dimly. As beaten by both of the sisters. One of the things they brought them up to be chess players. He wouldnt let them play and girls games. He would only let them lay in games others missy news. Im sure all of us here have a whole range of different skills. While different range. I think you are going to see most dont play cheese chess. You play chess, milk. Draw conclusions from that. There different games. Try to think of it snicker. Men make a lot more money and therefore they can become professional students and spend hours pointlessly sticking at this. [laughter]. Was women dont get much money so they dont get the training opportunities. Not staying that that definitely proves theres note sexes. In think there is more things about the question of print that should be the first question nonetheless. But if you think of the reliability of the populations you are looking at can you take one group of people and take your sample for males and sample for females and find a difference, there very well may be a difference but the next person who comes along well take a sample from still males and still females and then they will actually get a different difference and the issue is consistency. Im not saying theres any sword although remember if you set out to find a hypothesis and a difference and you find it come youre more likely to submit it to be published whereas if you set out to find a difference and you dont find it, then he will promise it. I called iceberg problem its a point above the water level where theres all these differences being published. The unwary journalist for example who comes along and says, has anybody done any work in this area . Have a look at the abstract and say a huge number of abstract showing differences not being aware that theres a huge number of abstracts papers with either having been cemented or similarities are not made much of because if you are looking for different sets what you report. So thats an issue that science has come from. Its a very good technique, some amazing techniques. But its not replicated because i think of the nature of the population or the very reliability. Quickset was fascinating topic its wonderful. Im just wondering, so much of the analysis of where weve come to with these false categorizations built upon social constructs by and large, when you say you really have the example of being in the vacuum. If you do it experiment and put people in a vacuum how would you gauge the influence enough to use the neural prefix but neuroendocrinology and say the influence of childbearing the hormones and childbearing and those types of things. I think whats interesting is, i focus on brain changes as a function of social context. Your account your endocrinologist to show the hormone changes are sensitive to the social context. Even at the Cellular Level we find in brain males and females if they are subjected to stress the characteristics can change from a female fan art form to the male form. In terms of authority experiment that something you can look at him not saying there are differences. Some of the studies looking at Gene Association studies. A two percent variance is accounted accounted for for biological differences. The only way forward is gender irrelevant. Let sex not be the first thing you see. If you see somebody who is brave and creative and encourage them to be that as opposed to if your girl thats what you do and if youre a boy thats what you do. I think those kind of changes even if its only being aware because people talk about schoolteacher send the boys out to play football and the girls can sit and read in the story corner. Not being aware or not thinking there might be girls here really like to go play football and boys who quite like to sit and listen to stories. Its almost as though you could never solve the problem because its so entangled because it was all right when it was nature and you can deal with nice dichotomy type studies but if there terribly entangled its quite difficult. Thank you, great talk. You mentioned there is images a study that looked at male brain and female brain they saw theres more front to back connection in the mail and like lateral connection and female brain. You explain thats in part due to the training and experiences that led up to that point. Has anyone looked at children and whether there is a difference in that . In fact, that very study which reported those differences they did have a whole range of individuals. It was Something Like 900 individuals. The differences didnt emerge until after adolescence. Which i think is very important but adolescence is actually a time when the brain is rewiring itself, which is interesting. Something we didnt realize. Another new finding. We just bought an adolescent brain was a childs brain getting bigger on its way to be a an adult brain. That study itself showed that there was no difference before adolescence. Another study i pointed out about the 5000 brain difference the average age the average age of the participants in that study was 60. Average age. There is quite a lot of stuff going on in that population. Not least if the average age was 60 quite likely there will not be differences with education. There didnt used to be the case in either males or females stayed in School Longer but if there is a difference it was more of the males had greater experience in education. No sex differences some adult brains we did the study and found that baby boys have a ab or the cerebellum is bigger. Sometimes another study looks at the same age group same measures and doesnt find a difference. Things like the cerebrum we are showing baby boys encouraged to be no torque for much earlier age than girls. Are you looking at the fact that somebody spending more time very early on they are very sensitive to social cues. [inaudible] its certainly a good reason why we must continue to study sex differences. I wouldnt discard looking at that is one factor to be the starting point there is differences in physical at the pathological level there are clear sex differences. Autism is a very and interesting example. Always thought of as a male problem. But more recently people started to say that actually its because its a male problem, its become a male problem. If you look to the diagnostic categories, the evidence that there is large number of numbers of girls and women diagnosed. They dont get autism. You cant be autistic because you understand social scripts or make eye contact. There is really a big move i had a symposium the week before i came out here which was saying we need to look at autism and girls. Early brain imaging studies only look to boys because only boyd has autism. I think there is that in a very well may be there is a sex difference. Maybe it manifest different than girls. There certainly are talking about neuro typicals. There certainly are pathological issues and it might be that those extremes are aware perhaps sex has a stronger factor. I dont know. But certainly we have to look at it. Thank you so much. [applause] you are watching booktv on cspan2 with top nonfiction books and authors every weekend. 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