[MLUG - DISCUSSION] why there are very few chicks on mlug -- the answer (I think)

[Mike Miller <EMAIL:PROTECTED>]

We've had discussions before about why there aren't more women on the MLUG
list.  We've also had discussions about Asperger syndrome and autism.
This puts it all together.  Here's an article that is about autism, to
some degree, but it's also about sex differences in cognition.  Read the
abstract and intro paragraphs below.  The whole thing is here in PDF:

http://taxa.epi.umn.edu/~mbmiller/journals/trends_in_cog_sci/200206_Baron_Cohen_autism_maleness.pdf

It's pretty amazing, I think.  A real eye-opener for me.

Mike

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http://news.bmn.com/magazine/article?uid=TICS.etd01250_13646613_v0006i06_00001904

Trends in Cognitive Sciences 2002, 6:248-254

The extreme male brain theory of autism

Simon Baron-Cohen

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The key mental domains in which sex differences have traditionally been
studied are verbal and spatial abilities. In this article I suggest that
two neglected dimensions for understanding human sex differences are
'empathising' and 'systemising'. The male brain is a defined
psychometrically as those individuals in whom systemising is significantly
better than empathising, and the female brain is defined as the opposite
cognitive profile. Using these definitions, autism can be considered as an
extreme of the normal male profile. There is increasing psychological
evidence for the extreme male brain theory of autism.
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'Empathising' is the drive to identify another person's emotions and
thoughts, and to respond to these with an appropriate emotion. Empathising
allows you to predict a person's behaviour, and to care about how others
feel. In this article, I review evidence that on average, females
spontaneously empathise to a greater degree than do males. 'Systemising'
is the drive to analyse the variables in a system, to derive the
underlying rules that govern the behaviour of a system. Systemising also
refers to the drive to construct systems. Systemising allows you to
predict the behaviour of a system, and to control it. I review evidence
that, on average, males spontaneously systemise to a greater degree than
do females [1].

Empathising is close enough to the usual English meaning of 'empathise' to
need little introduction (although I will come back to it shortly). But
systemising is a new concept, and needs a little more definition. By a
'system', I mean anything that takes inputs and deliver outputs. When you
systemise, you use 'if-then' (correlation) rules. The brain focuses in on
a detail or parameter of the system, and observes how this varies. That
is, it treats a feature as a variable. Or a person actively manipulates
this variable (hence the English word, systematically). They note the
effect(s) of this one input elsewhere in the system (i.e. the output). 'If
I do x, then y happens'. Systemising therefore needs an exact eye for
detail. There are at least six kinds of system that the human brain can
analyse or construct:

1. Technical systems: a computer, a musical instrument, a hammer, etc.

2. Natural systems: a tide, a weather front, a plant, etc.

3. Abstract systems: mathematics, a computer program, syntax, etc.

4. Social systems: a political election, a legal system, a business, etc.

5. Organisable systems: a taxonomy, a collection, a library, etc.

6. Motoric systems: a sports technique, a performance, a technique for
   playing a musical instrument, etc.

Systemising is an inductive process. You watch what happens each time,
gathering data about an event from repeated sampling, often quantifying
differences in some variables within the event and their correlation with
variation in outcome. After confirming a reliable pattern of association -
generating predictable results - you form a rule about how this aspect of
the system works. When an exception occurs, the rule is refined or
revised; otherwise, the rule is retained.

[snip]

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