权威杂志《经济学人》英文原版(整理完全版)文档格式.doc
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Menandwomenthinkdifferently.Butnotthatdifferently
INTHE1970stherewasafadforgivingdollstobabyboysandfire-enginestobabygirls.Theideawasthatdifferencesinbehaviourbetweenthesexesweresolelytheresultofupbringing:
cultureturnedwomenintoironers,knittersandchatterboxes,andmenintohammerers,drillersandsilenttypes.Switchingtoyswouldputanendtosexualsorting.Today,itisclearwhyitdidnot.Whenboysandgirlsareborn,theyarealreadydifferent,andtheyfavourdifferenttoysfromthebeginning.
Thatboysandgirls—andmenandwomen—areprogrammedbyevolutiontobehavedifferentlyfromoneanotherisnowwidelyaccepted.Surely,noonetodaywouldthinkofdoingwhatJohnMoney,ofJohnsHopkinsUniversity,didin1967:
amputatingthegenitaliaofaboywhohadsufferedabotchedcircumcision,andadvisingtheparentstobringhimupasagirl.Theexperimentdidn'
twork,andtheconsequencesweretragic.Butwhichofthedifferencesbetweenthesexesare“biological”,inthesensethattheyhavebeenhonedbyevolution,andwhichare“cultural”or“environmental”andmightmoreeasilybealteredbychangedcircumstances,isstillfiercelydebated.
ThesensitivityofthequestionwasshownlastyearbyafuroreatHarvardUniversity.LarrySummers,thenHarvard'
spresident,causedastormwhenhesuggestedthatinnateabilitycouldbeanimportantreasonwhythereweresofewwomeninthetoppositionsinmathematics,engineeringandthephysicalsciences.
Evenasapropositionfordiscussion,thisisunacceptabletosome.Butbiologicalexplanationsofhumanbehaviouraremakingacomebackasthegenerationofacademicsthatfearedthemasacovertwayofjustifyingeugenics,orofthwartingMarxistutopianism,isretiring.Thesuccessofneo-Darwinismhasprovidedanintellectualunderpinningfordiscussionaboutwhysomedifferencesbetweenthesexesmightbeinnate.Andnewscanningtechniqueshaveenabledresearcherstoexaminethebrain'
sinteriorwhileitisworking,showingthatmaleandfemalebrainsdo,atonelevel,operatedifferently.Theresults,however,donotalwayssupportpastcliché
saboutwhatthedifferencesinquestionactuallyare.
Differencesinbehaviourbetweenthesexesmust,insomeway,bereflectionsofsystematicdifferencesbetweenthebrainsofmalesandfemales.Suchdifferencescertainlyexist,butdrawinginferencesfromthemisnotaseasyasitmayappear.
Forastart,men'
sbrainsareabout9%largerthanthoseofwomen.Thatusedtobecitedasevidenceofmen'
ssupposedlygreaterintelligence.Actually,thedifferenceislargely(andprobablycompletely)explainedbythefactthatmenarebiggerthanwomen.Inrecentyears,moredetailedexaminationhasrefinedthepicture.Femalebrainshaveahigherpercentageofgreymatter(themanifestation,enbloc,ofthecentralbodiesofnervecells),andthusalowerpercentageofwhitematter(themanifestationofthelong,thinfilamentsthatconnectnervecellstogether),thanmalebrains.That,plusthefactthatinsomeregionsofthefemalebrain,nervecellsarepackedmoredenselythaninmen,meansthatthenumberofnervecellsinmaleandfemalebrainsmay
besimilar.
Oddly,though,themainconnectionbetweenthetwohemispheresofthebrain,whichisknownasthecorpuscallosumandismadeofwhitematter,isproportionatelysmallerinmenthanwomen.Thismayexplainwhymenuseonlyonesideofthebraintoprocesssomeproblemsforwhichwomenemploybothsides.
ThesedifferencesinstructureandwiringdonotappeartohaveanyinfluenceonintelligenceasmeasuredbyIQtests.Itdoes,however,seemthatthesexescarryoutthesetestsindifferentways.Inoneexample,wheremenandwomenperformequallywellinatestthatasksthemtoworkoutwhethernonsensewordsrhyme,brainscanningshowsthatwomenuseareasonboththerightandtheleftsidesofthebraintoaccomplishthetask.Men,bycontrast,useonlyareasontheleftside.Thereisalsoacorrelationbetweenmathematicalreasoningandtemporal-lobeactivityinmen—butnoneinwomen.Moregenerally,menseemtorelymoreontheirgreymatterfortheirIQ,whereaswomenrelymoreontheirwhitematter.
Americanexceptionalism
Theworld'
sbiggestinsurancemarketistoosplintered
KANSASCITY,Missouri,isknownmoreforitshistoricalroleasacattletownthanasafinancialhub.Butitistothismidwesterncity,America'
s26thlargest,thatregulatorsandinsuranceexecutivesfromaroundtheglobeheadwhentheywanttomakesenseoftheworld'
slargest—andoneofitsweirdest—insurancemarkets.
ForitisinKansasCitythattheNationalAssociationofInsuranceCommissioners(NAIC)ishoused.Itoverseesamarketaccountingforone-thirdofpremiumswrittenworldwide.OutsideKansasCity,themarketbecom