First, a disclaimer: I have no training that would allow me to judge the merits of the scientific argument that follows.
That said, I found this article fascinating, and not because of the science.
What interested me was the wrath California neuropsychiatrist Louann Brizendine has incurred from peers for suggesting significant neurological differences between men and women.
The article offers no suggestion that Brizendine wants women to stay home and bake cookies. The former Berkeley student and feminist bookstore worker admits her scientific observations stray from political dogma.
Brizendine realizes she’s going to take some heat. “I know it’s not politically correct to say this,” she says, “and I’ve been torn for years between my politics and what science is telling us. But I believe that women actually perceive the world differently than men. If women attend to those differences, they can make better decisions about how to manage their lives.”
But her progressive bona fides do not earn her a free pass. One critic says “she’s disgusted by scientists, writers and publishers who exploit trivial differences between the genders.”
To Brizendine’s credit, she’s sticking to her science rather than swaying with the wind of P.C. biliousness.
