Do girls perform in the VCE better than guys?

[Russ]

It's not as simple as "oh hey, different types of brain matter means different abilities". Brain research is in its infancy and in many cases differences observed are extrapolated out. So a research group sees that there's higher blood flow in area X and that area X is activated during answering some basic mathematical problems. Therefore if area X is larger in men, we can presume that men are better at maths right?

Well not really. I'm not going into it in detail, but all you can say is that that might be the case and it's a pretty tenuous link. Investigations of women and their abilities in mathematical problem solving demonstrated involvement of multiple brain regions. It's been proposed that men are better at spatial interpretation of information, which is how a lot of mathematics is taught. Women tend to combine spatial processing with verbal interpretation, which makes it more difficult etc.

Ultimately, the current understanding of how the brain functions is nowhere near advanced enough to make sweeping generalizations like above and the issue is especially confounded here because of massive and longstanding gender biases. Whilst it's plausible that there are gender differences in different academic fields, nobody knows and the one thing I will absolutely guarantee is that it is not going to be a single factor defining the difference. (I would also caution you on googling something and taking a press release as gospel. At least try to read the underlying research and the field)

Incidentally:

I don't know why you feel that women are so oppressed by the standards of men.

If you seriously think that there's no cultural oppression of women in the mathematical field and otherwise just lol

[Special At Specialist]

That is completely wrong. I NEVER discourage people from doing maths/science subjects. Quite the contrary, I always encourage people to try to persist and keep going. You do not know me at all.

Also, don't blame me for what happened thousands of years ago. People were different back then and the world was very... unusual. At least by today's standards.

[enwiabe]

That is completely wrong. I NEVER discourage people from doing maths/science subjects. Quite the contrary, I always encourage people to try to persist and keep going. You do not know me at all.

Also, don't blame me for what happened thousands of years ago. People were different back then and the world was very... unusual. At least by today's standards.

I know right now you are peddling the myth that males are genetically superior to females at mathematics.

This is a textbook definition of sexism.

If you don't like being called sexist, then stop being sexist.

[Special At Specialist]

It's not a myth. It's supported by scientific evidence. And yes, I agree with Russ when he says:
"the one thing I will absolutely guarantee is that it is not going to be a single factor defining the difference"
Although the grey matter in our brains may be a factor, it is certainly not the only factor. There are so many other factors which determine how good an individual is at a subject like maths, many of which are more significant factors than just gender.

The most significant factors are:
- Age
- Health
- Time spent studying

To sum up everything I am trying to say:
Gender is NOT a significant factor in determining how good someone is at a subject, BUT it is a factor. You would be wrong to claim that men and women are exactly the same at every subject.

[enwiabe]

It is, once more, the definition of a myth (I think you'd do well to look up these words in the dictionary).

There is not one jot of supportive evidence that says men are genetically better at maths than women. That study you linked offers only speculation, and does not even come close to any sort of concrete conclusion.

It is fallacious to say that a person's gender predetermines their mental ability, and it is also damaging to the majority who view that sentiment and already consign themselves to defeat because hey, why bother trying, they're probabilistically going to fail!

You are honestly a fool, and I hope one day you learn what a scientific argument actually entails and you realise how foolish and damaging you are being right now.

[Special At Specialist]

[KevinooBz]

Just comes down to the individual. You get what you put. Statistically it shows that females do better than males in VCE but those statistics could change any year. Like that one year where Melbourne High did better than MacRob(not that this is just based on the two schools). They just had a lot of hardworking students that year. Unless someone can find some research to prove females perform than males in VCE.

Not really, the only reason why the Class of 2009 beat Mac.Rob was because they all got derived-GAT scores on their mid-years due to swine flu...

*Even our principal admits it

Hopefully another influenza makes me sick in the 2013 exams and one of the examiners marking the GAT just gives me full marks because he can't be stuffed reading it. Fingers crossed for a 50 

[86]

I'll do this in pieces:

It is, once more, the definition of a myth (I think you'd do well to look up these words in the dictionary).

A myth is a story that is commonly spread like a rumour. If the truth counts as a story, then yes, I suppose it is just a myth.

There is not one jot of supportive evidence that says men are genetically better at maths than women. That study you linked offers only speculation, and does not even come close to any sort of concrete conclusion.

So you think it's just purely a coincidence that men score, on average, higher at maths but worse at humanities than females? Open your eyes.

It is fallacious to say that a person's gender predetermines their mental ability

And I suppose it's also fallacious to say that a child with down syndrome has a limited intelligence?

it is also damaging to the majority who view that sentiment and already consign themselves to defeat because hey, why bother trying, they're probabilistically going to fail!

Like I said, gender is a relatively minor factor overall. It should not let anyone feel defeated or hopeless, because it has a fairly low effect overall. But when you cancel out every single other factor (like that same age, same income commercial) then you can notice the difference.

You are honestly a fool, and I hope one day you learn what a scientific argument actually entails and you realise how foolish and damaging you are being right now.

You know you've lost the argument when you have to resort to insulting the other person.

[lexitu]

All I have to say is two things:

• One group scoring higher has nothing necessarily to do with causation.
• Gender and sex are different.

[Special At Specialist]

• Gender and sex are different.

Finally someone who understands. The sex of a person has no effect at all, but their gender does.

[ninwa]

It is fallacious to say that a person's gender predetermines their mental ability

And I suppose it's also fallacious to say that a child with down syndrome has a limited intelligence? EVERYTHING predetermines a persons mental ability. The amount of drugs your mum took when you were being born predetermines your mental ability. The amount of resources you have predetermines your mental ability. Let's face it: we're not omniscient, and we never will be. We just have to accept that we have a limited intelligence. Our limited intelligence is not the problem, it's our lack of persistance to reach the limit that is our problem.

You know you've lost the argument when you resort to comparing femaleness to Down's...

[Russ]

• Gender and sex are different.

Finally someone who understands. The sex of a person has no effect at all, but their gender does.

I...just...okay...what??

[Special At Specialist]

You know you've lost the argument when you resort to comparing femaleness to Down's...

I wasn't comparing them, I was just using it as an extreme example to prove a point.

[Russ]

Except your point was nonsensical. I'd explain why, but since you pretty much ignored what I said earlier, I don't see why I should bother

[lexitu]

• Gender and sex are different.

[/list]

Finally someone who understands. The sex of a person has no effect at all, but their gender does.

I...just...okay...what??

"I'm talking about equality from a structural/psychological perspective". But special, aren't you arguing about sex differences here?