You just never know what these scientists are going to discover next!
The brains of men and women operate differently, scientists have shown for the first time in a breakthrough that shows sex does matter in how people think and behave.
Can't. Make. It. Up.
So good to see scientists discovering the thing that we've all known for thousands of years at this point!
So how did these intrepid, fact-seeking extraordinaires figure out that men and women are different on a comprehensively fundamental level? Well:
There has never been any definitive proof of difference in activity in the brains of men and women, but Stanford University has shown that it is possible to tell the sexes apart based on activity in 'hotspot' areas.
They include the 'default mode network,' an area of the brain thought to be the neurological centre for 'self,' and is important in introspection and retrieving personal memories.
The limbic system is also implicated, which helps regulate emotion, memory and deals with sexual stimulation, and striatum, which is important in habit forming and rewards.
Ahh, okay: So the parts of the brain that regulate, um, sex. And emotion. And self-control.
Yeah, again, I think it's been pretty clear for a long time just how men and women are different concerning those factors. If you're a man and you've ever met a woman, or if you're a woman and you've ever met a man, it's, you know, immediately obvious. No scientific inquiry necessary.
But it was so un-obvious to these scientists that they needed an AI "model" to figure it out!
The model was shown MRI scans of working brains and told whether it was looking at a woman or man. Over time, the neural network began to pick out subtle differences between the two sexes that had been missed by humans.
When the researchers tested the model on about 1,500 brain scans, the model was able to tell if the scan came from a woman or a man more than 90 per cent of the time.
I understand this is about the brain. But you know that for centuries we've been able to tell the difference between men and women, like, 100% of the time, right? All we gotta do is point.
Women tend to be better at reading comprehension and writing ability on average, and have good long term memory.
Conversely, men seem to have stronger visual and spatial awareness and better working memory.
Genius level stuff. Instead of using an advanced AI system, they could have just asked literally anyone else on the planet to get the same conclusions.
Don't worry, I'm sure this study only took something like fifteen years and cost millions!
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