For those uncomfortable with change, you might want to start your own self-sustaining community. Call it 1950′s-Ville. Or 60s or 90s-Ville, or even 2010 Town.
Our world and what we understand about it is in flux. There are very few absolutes to tether your mind to. That’s probably why many people will simply make some up.
What follows are two science “quick hits.” One demonstrating how scientific knowledge is rapidly progressing. Which is change. The other providing me the opportunity to speculate about a change in the making.
1. In Mirror neuron system functions normally in autism we learn:
New research suggests that a brain system called the mirror neuron system, previously implicated as being dysfunctional in autism appears to function normally in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). [bolds mine]
Some may wonder, is this progress? Well, yes it is. Science very frequently advances by subtraction. Hypotheses are made, then tested. And when we see one is incorrect Eureka! some uncertainty has been eliminated. Besides knowing of “what is” knowledge includes an understanding of “what is not.” Null results ain’t sexy, but they help us advance toward the true by subtracting the false. Of course, an important word in the above quote is “appears.”
The article also included this:
The study, published by Cell Press in the May 13 issue of the journal Neuron, argues that difficulties in social communication experienced by individuals with ASD are caused by neural abnormalities other than a mirror neuron system dysfunction.
Time to find those other neural abnormalities by setting a course of action, testing it, and then changing course if it proves to be a dead end.
2. In It Was Brawn Over Beauty in Human Mating Competition, Anthropologist Says we encounter these . . . facts?:
“On average men are not all that much bigger than women, only about 15 percent larger[. . . .] But, the average guy is stronger than 99.9 percent of women.”
[W]omen tend to store more body fat, while men have 60 percent more muscle mass than women.
Here’s my speculation. While the above numbers may have been true for one/all human populations past and perhaps present, the numbers are likely to change significantly in the future. Why? Exercise builds muscle and burns fat-building calories. Males, on average, are getting less of it in their daily lives (keyboard operating finger muscles don’t count), while females are becoming more active, at least in terms of athletics.
How much will those numbers change (if they haven’t already, which I suspect they have)? I don’t know. Gender hormone differences will likely prevent perfect parity — it’s much easier to grow muscles when the tissue is fertilized with high levels of testosterone. Still, there is more to behavior and even physiology than hormones.
The world is changing. While the kitchen was “the place” for females in decades past (or so the stereotype goes), today it may be the basketball court. And elsewhere. This will influence all sorts of things. I, for one, am curious to see what develops, and have no attachment to past gender roles perceived as being the ones nature and/or a god intended. And so I won’t be moving into 70′s-Ville. I’ll keep rolling into an unfolding future. Fortunately, my home has wheels.
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