When Larry Summers speaks

The other day we struggled to articulate our unease over Harvard President Larry Summers's reported fightin' words re the likely biological basis of statistical differences in mathematical and scientific ability between women and men. Today, Ann Althouse explains:

The question should be: why is it worrisome? And then the answer is obvious: it's worrisome because there has been and continues to be so much deeply entrenched unfair discrimination against women that we are afraid that any negative quality that science might establish will be used to mean more than it should . . . I don't oppose legitimate scientific research into biological differences or think people should be gasping with horror at offhand speculation about biological sex differences, but we can properly demand that presidents of universities do a first-rate job of speaking in public about such things.

How the president of Harvard frames controversial issues matters because -- as they used to say about E.F. Hutton -- when Larry Summers speaks, people listen.

Comments

[Hale Adams]

Sissy,

It's OK to assert, as Ann Althouse does, that "we are afraid that any negative quality that science might establish will be used to mean more than it should". And yes, some of us men are chauvinist pigs.

BUT...

When you have grown, educated women acting like one Harvard professor, who left President Summers' conference because she didn't like what she was hearing (I'd give you the link, but I have no idea where I saw this news yesterday), I have to wonder if maybe sometimes women do the chauvinist pigs' work for them.

Maybe Ann ought to worry more about making sure women like that Harvard professor can grow a spine. Sheesh.

Oh, one last thing-- Yep, your niece certainly is enchanting. :)

[David]

George Will has a column in the WaPo that should but the final nail in the argument:

http://www.townhall.com/columnists/georgewill/gw20050127.shtml

David

[PETE]

my advice to PHYSICALLY STRONG AND BIG BRAINED WOMEN,

EVEN IF YOU ARE “UGLY” FROM A MAN’S PERSPECTIVE, FORCE FUCK A SMART MAN ASAP TO PASS ON YOUR GENES TO FUTURE GENERATIONS. TRY TO BEAT THE MALE’S BAD SELECTION PROCESS. THIS WAY YOU CAN REVERSE THE MALE DOMINANCE.

YOU CAN ALREADY SEE THIS IN SCANDINAVIAN COUNTRIES WHERE WOMEN HAVE BIG BRAINS COMPARED TO THEIR MEN.
THAT’S WHY MORE WOMEN ARE IN POSITIONS OF POWER IN FINLAND,SWEDEN, NORWAY ETC.

[John Denton]

Sally Ride didn't have to wait for some pirg groupie to 'support' her decision to become an astronaut.