Pinker Summary

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Pinker Summary The article Sex Ed: The Science of Difference by Steven Pinker is a commentary on the inherent sex differences of males and females. Through many sources he relates his own ideas, and those of others, that would explain the “gender gap” in the labor force for science, engineering, and technological development. One of his ideas is that persistence of prejudice, discouragement, and other obstacles lead to the gender imbalances seen in the science world. Such prevalent negativity on women could be a reason why women only make up twenty percent of the work force in the science field, but Pinker believes that it is not the only reason. Another prospect is that in the lack of discrimination gender differences can appear. Men and women are clearly different from birth, but their differences in interests, talents, attitudes whether arising from birth or learning all plays a part in the big story. Pinker’s third thought behind women’s absence is the child-rearing idea. Women, who embrace most of the responsibility when it comes to raising children, cannot simply coexist with professions in the science field which are so demanding in time. Pinker concludes his commentary with psychologist Philip Tetlock’s argument dealing with taboo. Tetlock believed that the outlook on taboo was an ingrained sense to morality. Pinker ends by saying, in a sense, that sex differences are now a kind of taboo when it comes to equal opportunities between the genders. However, he believes that the mentality of taboo when it comes to gender equality confines the findings of science and free
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