Morgan BellOops! Scientists change their minds
February 20th 2008 08:38
People think of scientists as a group of ultra-intellectuals: smart enough to tell us things, but too locked away in their ivory towers to deal with the real world.
The truth is, of course, that scientists are just like you and me, except more of them have glasses. They're fallible and they make mistakes.
Making mistakes is natural, but it takes real courage to admit that you were wrong... scientists are often loathe to make this admission, as they feel it will impact their reputations.
Here are a few that don't have that fear!
" Simon Baron-Cohen, psychologist, Autism Research Center, Cambridge University
When I was young I believed in equality as a guiding principle in life. My mind has been changed. I still believe in some aspects of the idea of equality, but I can no longer accept the whole package. Striving to give people equality of social opportunity is still a value system worth defending, but we have to accept that equality has no place in the realm of biology."
When I was young I believed in equality as a guiding principle in life. My mind has been changed. I still believe in some aspects of the idea of equality, but I can no longer accept the whole package. Striving to give people equality of social opportunity is still a value system worth defending, but we have to accept that equality has no place in the realm of biology."
We should definitely strive for people to be treated equally, but it's an obvious fact that everyone is different.
"Helena Cronin, philosopher, London School of Economics
I used to think that these patterns of sex differences resulted mainly from average differences between men and women in innate talents, tastes and temperaments. After all, in talents men are on average more mathematical, more technically minded, women more verbal; in tastes, men are more interested in things, women in people; in temperaments, men are more competitive, risk-taking, single-minded, status-conscious, women far less so. But I have now changed my mind. It is not a matter of averages, but of extremes. Females are much of a muchness, clustering round the mean. But, among males, the variance—the difference between the most and the least, the best and the worst—can be vast. So males are almost bound to be over-represented both at the bottom and at the top. I think of this as 'more dumbbells but more Nobels'."
I used to think that these patterns of sex differences resulted mainly from average differences between men and women in innate talents, tastes and temperaments. After all, in talents men are on average more mathematical, more technically minded, women more verbal; in tastes, men are more interested in things, women in people; in temperaments, men are more competitive, risk-taking, single-minded, status-conscious, women far less so. But I have now changed my mind. It is not a matter of averages, but of extremes. Females are much of a muchness, clustering round the mean. But, among males, the variance—the difference between the most and the least, the best and the worst—can be vast. So males are almost bound to be over-represented both at the bottom and at the top. I think of this as 'more dumbbells but more Nobels'."
This is such a satisfying conclusion that agrees with men that I've met throughout my life. After playing on rugby teams and going to university, men do, in fact, cover a wide range of intelligence. On the other hand, I've rarely met a woman that could match the dudes on my football team. And on the other hand, I studied with some fearsomely intelligent women...
Read the full article!
*this image is taken from the article in The Edge.
| 125 |
| Vote |
Add To: 
subscribe to this blog
Comment by CarlCan
Astroearth
Comment by Sylvie
As for science, it wouldn't even exist in its present form if people couldn't change their minds. Science is the foremost example of change and the need to let go of outdated ideas.
Comment by Cibbuano
Hunt Famous
Orble Post of the Day
Fat Cult
Techbreak
Comment by Sven Topp
Parent Debate
Deafblind Dad
Revuze
One of the important keys to looking at Psychology and the research undertaken in it is that its always important to work with a fallible hypothesis.
Of course the more mathematical based sciences like Physics etc are prone to making calculation errors and the margin of possible error is becoming greater and greater as our technology gets smaller and smaller (a very minute mistake can make a huge difference).
Comment by Louie
randomthoughts
Phil's Wellness Tips