"look, the truth cannot be offensive. Perhaps the hypothesis is wrong, but how would we ever find out whether it is wrong if it is 'offensive' even to consider it?"
I'll bet Lawrence Summers has read Dr. Sandra Witelson's work. He made statements that provoke further exploration, but according to some, whoa be it that we even entertain the idea let alone try.
M
Differences between males and females
In January 2005, Summers gave a speech [2] at an economic conference in which he discussed possible reasons for the current underrepresentation of women at the top in many fields, especially in science and engineering. He said that although his remarks were provocative, it was vitally important to study the underlying reasons. These may include social issues, such as willingness to commit fully to a highly demanding career, and biological differences between the genders. An excerpt from the speech:
"So my best guess, to provoke you, of what's behind all of this is that the largest phenomenon, by far, is the general clash between people's legitimate family desires and employers' current desire for high power and high intensity, that in the special case of science and engineering, there are issues of intrinsic aptitude, and particularly of the variability of aptitude, and that those considerations are reinforced by what are in fact lesser factors involving socialization and continuing discrimination. I would like nothing better than to be proved wrong."
His remarks generated a media controversy over the question of gender differences, and provoked criticism from Harvard faculty. Though he initially defended his original opinion, in a later statement he claimed that "The issue of gender difference is far more complex than comes through in my comments, and my remarks about variability [in the ability of men and women] went beyond what the research has established." [3]
There is only a small mean gender difference in mathematical aptitude scores, but the variance is greater in males, creating more individuals at the high and low extremes.[4]
Summers' opposition and support at Harvard
On March 15, 2005, members of Harvard's Faculty of Arts and Sciences, which instructs graduate students in GSAS and undergraduates in Harvard College, passed 218-185 a motion of "lack of confidence" in the leadership of Summers, with 18 abstentions. A second motion that offered a milder censure of the president passed 253 to 137, also with 18 abstentions. [5]
The lack of confidence measure is different from a "no-confidence" vote, which in the British parliamentary system causes the fall of a government, and it has no formal effect on the president's position. The members of the Harvard Corporation, the University's highest governing body, are in charge of the selection of the president and have issued statements strongly supporting Summers.
FAS faculty are not unanimous in their comments on Summers; influential psychologist Steven Pinker defended the legitimacy of Summers's January remarks. When asked if Summers’ remarks were "within the pale of legitimate academic discourse," Pinker responded "Good grief, shouldn’t everything be within the pale of legitimate academic discourse, as long as it is presented with some degree of rigor? That’s the difference between a university and a madrassa [an Islamic school] [...] There is certainly enough evidence for the hypothesis to be taken seriously. [...] Some psychologists are still offended by such hypotheses, but yes, they could certainly be considered at most major conferences in scientific psychology." When asked if Pinker himself found the remarks offensive, he responded "look, the truth cannot be offensive. Perhaps the hypothesis is wrong, but how would we ever find out whether it is wrong if it is 'offensive' even to consider it?" [6]
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