The sociological religion of no biological differences between the sexes | Hacker News Reader

The sociological religion of no biological differences between the sexes

whyevolutionistrue.wordpress.com

3 pointsxname25 comments

I'm not sure what the point of all this blather is. Many people argue that the differences between the genders are largely irrelevant in a lot of situations, and that distinct differences between gender or race are only really relevant when talking about large groups on a statistical basis. Studying these differences doesn't produce anything profound or meaningful, either, just data that irritates people because it promotes thinking in generalities.

Whatever differences there are when dealing with averages are usually irrelevant in human-scale interactions between a handful of people that are, in many cases, randomly distributed across various criteria.

If group X was found to be on average 5% higher in some particular measurement than another, what does that mean on a person-to-person basis? All it will do is bias people in their thinking. It's only when that percentage is quite extreme that it's actually significant.

I think the article is making a valid point and your response is not the classic opposition but a more thoughtful sounding version of the taboo. :-)

Study of a average 5% statistical difference of a population would considered a valid scientific endeavour in many places yet a lot of people would only raise this criticism when applied to study of gender/race differences.

Of course 5% higher is practically meaningful. If group A is 160cm tall on average, 5% higher means 168cm tall on average. This difference can be easily observed by normal person. How would anybody think this difference is meaningless?

If you're designing furniture, cars, or clothing where every centimetre counts, sure, but in general practice that's almost irrelevant.

Does this affect things like who you should invite to a party? What effect does this have on ordinary life?

Apart from the interesting taboos of race and sex, there is another interesting thing I've wanted to talk about.

I don't believe the left and right are recent inventions, I think it is biological. Both the left and right have their own taboos. Those taboos spring immediately into existence when a topic such as sex or race is brought up. You automatically see both sides lining up against each other.

This is very interesting!

We should be asking why do the left and right exist? Why is it so powerful and pervasive across all cultures and times?

My intuition tells me it is some sort of regulation mechanism, but I've never seen this subject discussed before.

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