Larry Summers

The New York Times > Business > Economic Scene: Some Economists Say the President of Harvard Talks Just Like Them: "Despite his caveats, some women's advocates were outraged that Dr. Summers entertained, let alone endorsed the hypotheses that family arrangements or innate abilities might have anything to do with the success of women in science. Nancy H. Hopkins, a biology professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who has campaigned for more hiring and promotion of female professors, walked out on his remarks and later told reporters, 'I felt I was going to be sick.'"

It's a very sorry commentary on the state of our society when there can't be even a hypothesis that has overtones of political incorrectness and suggesting that there are innate physiological and psychological differences between the males and females. Yet it's a scientific fact that on average, a larger percentage of male brains is gray matter, and a larger percentage of female brains is white matter. There are a number of psychiatric disorders (Borderline Personality Disorder and Bi-Polar Affective Disorder, to name two) that affect 2 to 4 times as many women as men. But men are much more likely to suffer from autism.

Don't ever let the Left try to tell you they are any more tolerant of diversity than the Right. They're both threats to liberty (Freedom from undue government influence) and free inquiry. They're just as likely to use bogus numbers and fear tactics (witness the Social Security debates....how about we be honest and say that it's a Ponzi scheme and a wealth transfer from the young to the old, and completely unsustainable -- it was never meant to be the sole source of retirement income, but that's what it seems to be in people's minds....