Path: utzoo!utgpu!attcan!uunet!husc6!rutgers!mcnc!ecsvax!chase@orc.olivetti.com
From: chase@orc.olivetti.com (David Chase)
Newsgroups: comp.society.women
Subject: Re: Logic and Language
Message-ID: <5732@ecsvax.uncecs.edu>
Date: 3 Nov 88 05:52:44 GMT
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> They found that the bundle of fibers that connects the two
> hemispheres of the brain is consistantly and significantly
> thicker in females than in males.  Since the left brain
> supposedly controls the language and logical functions and the
> right side supposedly controls the emotions, they theorized ...

At the risk of being called a grump, I'm skeptical that this
explains why women "express their emotions" to a greater degree
than men.  I'm not sure if there's anything about thought that
can be measured that isn't subject to cultural conditioning*,
but I wouldn't start with "emotional expression".  The right-hand
side of the brain certainly controls more than just emotions.
Also, any  "correlation" between the size of the nerve fiber bundle
and whatever could be just as bogus as the correlation between
brain size and intelligence.  Still, it would be interesting to
know what purpose (if any) the thicker bundle serves.  

* haven't there been claims that if someone is raised in a world of
vertical stripes then that person becomes more attuned to the nuances
of vertical stripes?  This could be a factoid too, of course; I think
I read it in some book on Whorf.

David