Introduction
Kelvin Daum wrote the article bearing the title “admit it: women are smarter than men”. Based on his profile, he is a master in marketing and advertising. This implies that his writing and analysis skills are exceptional. The article was obtained from a blog site. In addition, the information is not referenced. This article is not valid as blogs are not reliable sources of information for academic work.
The effort made by a number of great women in the world has received considerable recognition. Recently, Theatlantic.com pointed out a significant realization that women were better at managing hedge funds allocated to them more than their male counterparts. Women were found have made three times more money than men from the hedge funds than men.
Further the article stated that companies run by female CEOs outperform those run by male CEO by up to 50% (James, 2015, p. 1). Obviously, such data has the ability to cause an impact and trigger action that is not necessarily based on facts but assumptions. The article by theAtlantic.com surely triggered some action.
Following the data provided by the article, Barclay’s bank set aside a stock fund for companies with female CEOs or those whose board of directors consisted of at least 25% females (James, 2015, p. 1). The assumption here is that women are smarter, sharper and more resourceful than men. In the same respect, entrepreneurs were advised on a number of aspects based on the fact that women are better performers. Entrepreneurs were advised to:
- Root out bias against women
- Revise their promotions lists to make sure that equally or better qualified women were not overlooked while men took their place.
- Scrap off corporate cultures that were hostile to women since doing so the organizations were ignoring the brainpower that would revolutionize performance in those companies.
Stereotyping
Although there is some element of truth in the article, it features a great extent of stereotypic thinking. While some women in positions of power have recorded great performance and results, all women are not the same. The article creates an impression that performance is a guarantee whenever a woman is involved.
While there could be other factors that may have led to the successful utilization of the edge funds, the article cited involvement of women as the only reason. The reasoning here is only guided by the gender and nothing else. Probably the women whose performance is considered exceptional have higher academic qualification than their male counterparts. However, the article writer did not bother to put this into account.
Another stereotypic reasoning in the article tends to imply that the women’s success as CEOs is dependent on strategies laid down by their male predecessors. TheAtlantic.com wrote that already successful companies have a tendency of hiring female CEO (James, 2015, p. 1). As a result, the female recruits continue the legacy set by the former CEOs. However, the business environment is experiencing immense changes such that only the agile can survive. Looking at the issues critically, taking over a successful company is no guarantee to success.
Actually, CEOs taking over already established and successful company face a major challenge in setting the same trend regardless of whether they are male or female. Such an assumption is not only unfounded but also unrealistic. Again the article provides no valid evidence that successful female CEOs took over the companies that were already successful and fails to take into account the achievements that are independent of the company’s history.
Emotive Language
Emotive language refers to a particular choice of words that trigger certain emotions such as sympathy. Such language targets to persuade people to believe that something or particular findings are true. The content being delivered is not always based on facts but in most cases, people tend to take action on the basis of emotions rather than the validity of the information.
In the article, the choice of word is specifically to show how ridiculous it is for anyone to think that women are not smarter than men. Majority of the people would agree with the information so as to appear to be as intelligent as the writer. Facts do not require the use of emotive language since they are indisputable.
Conclusion
Achievements by women have received recognition globally. However, it would be unrealistic to use the achievements of a few to assume that all women are successful. Although women are capable of recording exceptional performance in business, it is imperative to consider valid statistics when making decisions concerning such issues. In addition women must be viewed as individuals and not judged as a group.
Article 2: Human Beings have Gotten Smatter over Time
Introduction
Tia Ghose is the writer of the article “women are getting smarter faster than men, study says”. Ghose is a writer for live science, an organization that researches on human sciences. The article was extracted from a website which is a credible source. In addition, the writer clearly references information from external sources which makes the article a valid academic source.
Clearly, human ability has grown to unbelievable levels. The invention of sophisticated technology, infrastructure, policies and perspectives towards certain aspects of life are evidence that human cognitive abilities are different from one generation to another. In an article, Ghose put across an argument that human beings have gotten smatter through time owing to better living conditions, education and better health (Ghose, 2014, p. 1). According to the article, human cognitive ability increase with better living standards.
Interesting the writer went on to specify that the growth and improvement in cognitive abilities was higher for women than that of men exposed to similar conditions. Another finding documented in the article is that women are better in episodic memory than men. However, time and living conditions are not the only factors that influence cognitive abilities in men and women. The writer put forward a number of concerns following the argument that cognitive abilities increase at a faster rate in women than in men. These factors include:
- The influence of culture against nature
- The study was conducted within a very short period
- Existing differences between women and men were not eliminated while making conclusions from the study
While the findings documented in the article could be true, a critical perspective on the article sheds light to a number of elements that might render the information invalid. The article features certain elements of stereotypic reasoning and overgeneralization which imply that the improvement in cognitive ability may not be applicable to every woman even when exposed to the similar conditions.
Overgeneralization
Clearly, different people possess different intelligence levels, abilities and talents while some people are outright geniuses some are not as privileged to have the same abilities. An interesting fact is that some people exposed to the best living standards are not as would be expected based on the findings documented in the article (Ghose, 2014, p. 1). Still, some people who are considered to be disadvantaged have portrayed greater intellectual ability than their possibly members of the society.
In the article, the writer states that women’s cognitive abilities increase more than those of men. Does this apply to all women? Again, do women perform better than men in all fields? The fact that women are different and people perform differently in various disciplines means that it is incorrect to generalize information on how cognitive ability changes. Stating that women are smarter than men requires specifics on the disciplines in which they performance is exceptional.
It is also imperative not to ignore the fact that men outdo women in certain areas. On the other hand, the influence of external factors in measuring the improvement of cognitive ability was not eliminated in making the conclusions. For the data to be valid there is need to ensure that the subjects being studied are at the same level before carrying out the study.
This is because in some cultural setting women have faced discrimination for a long time. In such communities women will obviously register a high improvement in cognitive ability than men since they were at a lower level at the beginning of the study. The study lacks vital information and is based on the assumption that all women are the same, which is not true.
Stereotyping
In the article, the writer insists that women are smarter than men without sighting other factors linked to women who exhibit better cognitive abilities than those of men exposed to the same conditions. The assumption is that all women respond in the same when exposed to certain conditions.
This is not true since women respond differently to various conditions. Again, women do not have the same abilities in all fields. While information discussed in the article may contain some elements of truth, categorizing all women in a single group makes the validity of the data questionable. Factors such as personality and unique nature of human beings ultimately make them different. As a result, it is incorrect to employ stereotypic reason in making conclusions.
Conclusion
Ghose argues that human beings are becoming smarter through time. People living in the modern world are smarter than ancient people. While this is relatively true, it does not apply to all people. It is wrong to assume that all people react in the same way to improvement of living conditions. Even with improved living conditions, some people are not as smart as others.
Michael Harper: Women are Smarter than Men
Introduction
Michael Harper is the writer of the article “women are smarter than men”. He is a writer for a website called redorbit.com. The article is sourced from a website and links to external information are provided. This makes the article a valid source of academic information.
Michael Harper in an article upholds the argument that women are smarter than men. He draws his argument from a number of research papers written by experts supporting the argument. One of the outstanding findings that he introduces n his article is the argument by a British researcher, Adrian Furnhan, stating that men and women possess the same level of intelligence but men believe they are more intelligent (Harper, 2012, p. 1).
Later a group of researchers also created an online version of the popular trivial pursuit with an aim identifying which gender has a better brain. 15 million questions were answered by both male and female participants from different parts of the world. After observing the responses, the researchers said that women answered most of the questions correct as compared to their male counterparts.
Research also indicates that IQ levels for both men and women have risen. However, it is interesting to note that in recent IQ tests, women have recorded a higher level of IQ with 5 points over their male counterparts. Researchers say that in 100 years, women have not registered higher IQ levels than men until recently (Harper, 2012, p. 1). Interpreting these findings, some researchers have stated that women have always had better brain power but did not exercise it fully owing to a number of factors such as cultural responsibilities, negative stereotyping and fewer opportunities.
False Correlations
For a long time society has perceived men to be superiors thereby subjecting women lesser treatment. As a result, men received various privileges such as education and good jobs while the women stayed at home to take care of the children. However, throughout the years, women have risen and proved their ability in handling various tasks as men do or even better.
This disputes the assumption that women think of themselves as a lesser gender. On the argument that men are more apt to thinking they are smarter than women, the author fails to provide evidence to support this argument. The lack of research evidence on the issue introduces the problem of false correlation in the article. In order to compare the tendency of men and women to think they are smarter than members of the opposite gender, statistical or experimental data is required.
False Premise
Women have undertaken the roles of motherhood and parenting for a lifetime. Both in the ancient times when men were the sole breadwinners and recent times where women share the same offices with men, women have recorded great performance in the art of parenting. Career women today still bare children and still perform in their respective premises. As a result, there is no major impact on a woman’s brain power that is caused by motherhood. Being a mother does not change a woman’s brain power.
The actual reason as to why ancient women seemed to have a lesser brain power is because they were suppressed and forced to remain under the rule of men. This prevented them from fully exercising their capabilities since they were limited by the decisions made by men. In addition, there are no studies that cite child rearing as a burdening task for women. There are practical examples of women who are successful in their careers as well as their parenting responsibilities.
Stereotyping
Mr. Flynn argument that British women are smarter than British men is stereotypic. In his argument, he assumes that all British women are the same and British men also are the same (Harper, 2012, p. 1). Such an argument implies that a person’s IQ is based on whether he or she is a man or a woman bearing a British origin. It is unrealistic to assume that all women or men in Britain are the same. In order to make assumptions on the IQ of an individual, several factors are involved and gender is insignificant in this case.
Conclusion
According to Michael Harper, both men and women have the same level of intelligence. He argues that women have been smarter than men all along but the facts are only coming out to light. However, the article features a number of flaws that are only visible through the eyes of a critical thinker. These include stereotyping and false premise.
Michael Hanlon: Intelligence based on IQ Levels
Introduction
Michael Hanlon is the writer of the article “is the female of the species really more intelligent than the male?”. The article was retrieved from a website called the telegraph for which Halcon is a staff writer. External information used in the article is not referenced which makes it a poor source of academic information.
Michael Hanlon, in his article states that people feature vivid differences that are due to their different genetic composition. The writer appreciates findings by James Flynn that women are outperforming their male counterparts in intelligence tests. Clearly, the findings contradict what most people have believed for a long time. He notes that Flynn’s findings received positive reactions but cares to wonder how the situation would be if the researcher found that men are smarter than women (Hanlon, 2012, p. 1).
Probably, the opposite of his findings would be opposed and regarded as chauvinist. The implication here is that society is so blinded by the dire need to defend women to an extent of disregarding research findings. However, this is not to mean that all research findings are valid. In the eyes of a critical thinker, the article features a number of problems that could imply that the information is invalid.
False Premise
The argument that people with higher IQ levels are characterized by better qualifications, jobs and live are invalid based on the fact that not all people get the same privileges in life. There people with high IQs who are not as successful in life as their equals with lower IQs. Such an assumption requires substantial evidence and specific data on the factors that identify the successful people in life. In some cases determination and persistence lead to great success. However, these two have nothing to do with the intellectual ability of an individual. Assuming that al successful people have a high IQ introduces the problem of false premise in the article.
False Correlation
The writer notes that people have link certain dietary practices to better IQ (Hanlon, 2012, p. 1). However, there are people with low IQs in countries whose population have been well fed for centuries. Medical experts link certain foods to good formation of brain cells. This is the main link between intelligence and diet. However, a good diet influences the quality of life hence improving the ability of a person to learn and assimilate knowledge. Research conducted on the relationship between diet and intelligence does not substantiate the effect of diet on the intelligence level in adults.
Conclusion
Michael Hanlon brings the idea of genetic composition on board in discussing the realization by Flynn that women are smarter than men. However, genes alone cannot be used to explain a person’s IQ level. Other factors such as environment and diet also play a role in a person’s intelligence.
References
Ghose,.T. (2014). Women are getting smarter faster than men, study says. Retrieved on 23rd May, 2015 from: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/29/women-getting-smarter-than-men-study_n_5629841.html
Hanlon,. M. (2012). Is the female of the species really more intelligent than the male?. Retrieved on 23rd May, 2015 from: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/science-news/9404856/Is-the-female-of-the-species-really-more-intelligent-than-the-male.html
Harper,. M. (2012). Women are smarter than men. Retrieved on 23rd May, 2015 from: http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1112656907/women-are-smarter-than-men/
James,. G. (2015). Admit it: women are smarter than men. Retrieved on 23rd May, 2015 from: http://www.inc.com/geoffrey-james/admit-it-women-are-smarter-than-men.html