LogFAQs > #910293421

cuttin_in_farm posted...

In what way would dumbing something down make them less interested, assuming the premise is true?

When I go to the mechanic with a woman, they will tailor the questions to me. If the woman goes solo, the concepts may be dumbed down.

I understand how it can happen. But how does that relate to interest? Especially for young children. The opposite would be true, I feel.

Lots of potential reasons, of which this study certainly doesn't address. In general, things get much more interesting in science with more detail, at least to most scientists. You'll notice that popular press version of science is very shallow, which is interesting to non scientists, but god awful to scientists. So, if you aren't given the proper depth, the field might not be selected for in the same fashion. But also, the girls do detect the difference, then they might have an implicit in-group out-group association that begins building very early on.

None the less, differential treatment in early education of science is an alarming thing.
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