The XX Factor: Slate women blog about politics, etc...

Re: Speaking of XX, again

But surely this was Sommers' point: How will we ever be able to talk about sex differences in an interesting way if we're not allowed to study them? If the subject is an academic taboo, then the same old cliches will just live on for another generation. Or ten generations.

And the Ahmadinejad comparison is actually quite interesting. I hated the fact that Columbia invited him, hated the accompanying self-important blather about free speech in America - the real subject should have been free speech in Iran - hated the Iranian president's transparently political motives for being there. On the other hand, when he did actually speak, he sounded so utterly ridiculous - "there are no homosexuals in my country" - that he mortally damaged his own "I'm-the-real- democrat-here" propaganda.  

By the same token, open discussion of intellectual differences between men and women might well prevent the idea of a naturally scientific male brain from scaring off brilliant young female scientists. If any of them are actually scared, which I very much doubt.