Different Brains, Different Realities? Essay -- Biology Essays Researc

Different Brains, Different Realities? Most of us go through our days not questioning why separate aisles in toy stores are designated to boy-toys such as puzzles and blocks and girl-toys such as dolls and tea sets. We do not always consciously notice that men dominate certain professional fields while women do others. And why are there a higher percentage of gay men (or more "feminized" men) in the dramatic, passionate world of the performing arts? Are these sex trends all enculturation? If we do not stop to explore the origins and implications of our observations, we make the mistake of glossing over them with the non-informative, "fact-of-life" explanation that neglects the why of the issue. Perhaps one such "why" involves biological premises. The steroid hormones secreted by the gonads (mainly androgens in males and estrogens and progestins in females), for instance, are not restricted to the lower half of the body and are known to have divergent effects on the brains of the separate sexes. Although the male and female brain may appear identical structurally (except for the male's being about 10% larger) (1), morphological differences abound. The brain is organized by the presence or absence of androgens neonatally, long before it gets a chance to interact with its culture. In rodents, for instance, testosterone masculinizes the brain to prevent ovulatory capacity and establish male-typical behavior. This phenomenon is accomplished by aromatization, or the paradoxical conversion of testosterone to estrogen in the brain. Female rodents are protected from this estrogen-based masculinization by a protein in the blood called AFP. A small amount of estrogen does actually seep into the brain, however, and this might be resp... ... of stupidity or "weirdness." It is useful to recognize that we may, in essence, be experiencing different realities! As we learn to stop underestimating the power of a hormone, we can also learn more about ourselves, the opposite sex, and our interactions. And, just as we must sometimes "agree to disagree," perhaps we must also be willing to "understand to not understand." References 1)This paper reflects the research and thoughts of a student at the time the paper was written for a course at Bryn Mawr College. Like other materials on Serendip, it is not intended to be "authoritative" but rather to help others further develop their own explorations. Web links were active as of the time the paper was posted but are not updated. Contribute Thoughts | Search Serendip for Other Papers | Serendip Home Page http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/cgi-bin/comments Different Brains, Different Realities? Essay -- Biology Essays Researc Different Brains, Different Realities? Most of us go through our days not questioning why separate aisles in toy stores are designated to boy-toys such as puzzles and blocks and girl-toys such as dolls and tea sets. We do not always consciously notice that men dominate certain professional fields while women do others. And why are there a higher percentage of gay men (or more "feminized" men) in the dramatic, passionate world of the performing arts? Are these sex trends all enculturation? If we do not stop to explore the origins and implications of our observations, we make the mistake of glossing over them with the non-informative, "fact-of-life" explanation that neglects the why of the issue. Perhaps one such "why" involves biological premises. The steroid hormones secreted by the gonads (mainly androgens in males and estrogens and progestins in females), for instance, are not restricted to the lower half of the body and are known to have divergent effects on the brains of the separate sexes. Although the male and female brain may appear identical structurally (except for the male's being about 10% larger) (1), morphological differences abound. The brain is organized by the presence or absence of androgens neonatally, long before it gets a chance to interact with its culture. In rodents, for instance, testosterone masculinizes the brain to prevent ovulatory capacity and establish male-typical behavior. This phenomenon is accomplished by aromatization, or the paradoxical conversion of testosterone to estrogen in the brain. Female rodents are protected from this estrogen-based masculinization by a protein in the blood called AFP. A small amount of estrogen does actually seep into the brain, however, and this might be resp... ... of stupidity or "weirdness." It is useful to recognize that we may, in essence, be experiencing different realities! As we learn to stop underestimating the power of a hormone, we can also learn more about ourselves, the opposite sex, and our interactions. And, just as we must sometimes "agree to disagree," perhaps we must also be willing to "understand to not understand." References 1)This paper reflects the research and thoughts of a student at the time the paper was written for a course at Bryn Mawr College. Like other materials on Serendip, it is not intended to be "authoritative" but rather to help others further develop their own explorations. Web links were active as of the time the paper was posted but are not updated. Contribute Thoughts | Search Serendip for Other Papers | Serendip Home Page http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/cgi-bin/comments

A Modern Day Sir Thomas More Essay

As a foreigner, I think America is a very open and free country, many commodities, advanced technology. In my mind, America is a land of good-hearted people, a nation of citizens who have more to unite them than to divide them, a country held together by a belief in freedom and opportunity for all. Although America is so good a country, you could never call it utopia, there are also a lot of peoblems with American society today. Following I will pick up three significant problems with American society to make a discussion. First of all is women issues. Do you believe women are treated equally in America? My answer is no. It seems as though we have made so many strides in our history,but discrimination never seems to go away. Women are seen as to emotional for things,in this day and age we are seen weak because we have children and hearts and we not only judge mentally but with our hearts. I believe there is sexism in the States. Maybe women are treated equally under the law. But in the long run, it’s not the law that counts, it’s people’s attitudes, and those have a long way to go. There are alot of men who see women should still be home barefoot,cooking and cleaning and raising the children. So I think there is a lot of sexism in the united states. The second issue I want to talk about is unequal distribution of wealth. Privatization is increasing in America, which provides opportunities only to those who can afford. Due to this, rich people are becoming richer and poor becoming poor. From the report, it is shocking but true. Around 13-17% American population lives below the federal poverty line. The US government does not have an absolute definition for poverty, but it describes the same phenomenon as relative poverty, that is, how income relates to median income. The number of people living under poverty line is increasing at an alarming rate. So I think the government of the United States should think about how to fix America’s wealth inequalities. Last but not the less important, I want to say that the increasing cost of living is also a big problem in the USA’s society. With growing inflation, the cost of living in America is also increasing significantly. But, the minimum wage is not increasing in the same fashion, and so, many people find it difficult to fulfill their daily basic requirements. The working population makes more money and again spends more on living, which hardly leaves anything behind for savings. America has the lowest saving rate compared to any other developed nation. We could never  deny that the United States is a powerful country in the world today. There are many other specific socio-economic and cultural problems except the three issues above that America is faced with. In order to maintain the position of power and prestige. The American government needs to come up with stringent policies to solve the aforementioned problems.

The Current Macroeconomic Situation Of The U.s. - 794 Words

The â€Å"current macroeconomic situation† in the U.S. has improved greatly over the past few years. With the stock market at an all-time high, with data trends of unemployment trending down from 5.4 percent in April, 5.5 percent in May and now at an all-time low of 5.3 percent in July (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2015). Last quarter economic growth was at 5 percent, relative mild consumer price-inflation, and the bonanza of cheap gas, there is increased optimism about the U.S. economy (Chafuen, A, 2015). Yet most of America is still concerned about unemployment, inflation and recession. Per CNN, only 42% of American’s thought the economy was in good shape. That is not even half of America but the numbers are the best they have been in†¦show more content†¦The effects include an increase in the money supply, lower interest rates and a rise in overall aggregate demand (AboutNews, n,d,). This would boost growth as measured by Gross Domestic Product as well . As stated above the current economic situation is one that looks like it could be a very strong year. The U.S. announced strong third-quarter Gross Domestic Product growth of 3.9%. The unemployment rate is at an all-time low of 5.3 percent. Inflation has decreased as well to 1.8 percent. Even though with half of America believing the economy is in bad shape. We are not in a recession. A recession is technically defined as two straight quarters of a declining Gross Domestic Product, and this is not the case. An appropriate fiscal policy that could be used to make the economy even stronger would be an expansionary fiscal policy, even though the economy is not in a recession. This fiscal policy results in increased government spending and/or lower taxes. In order to close this gap, the government will typically increase their spending which will directly increase the aggregate demand curve, since government spending creates demand for goods and services. At the same time, the government may choose to cut taxes, which will indirectly affect the aggregate demand curve by allowing for consumers to have more money at their disposal to consume and invest. Government spending has increased contributing to economic