What? You were expecting maybe the Beatles? Think again. I meant the wooden thinking of Norwegian social science experts about nature- nurture (feel free to add scare quotes and/or the modifier "so- called").
Here's the background. A well-known comedian in Norway, Harald Eia, has produced a documentary on the biological bases of gender differences. Called "Brainwashed", it was shown on Norwegian public television (the NRK), where it was watched by much of the country. It created a huge controversy. Its burden is that while many experts outside Norway have concluded that gender differences are substantially genetic in origin, those in Norway, that most egalitarian of countries, reject this conclusion. They instead claim that this question is uninteresting, morally suspect, and it's all due to culture and upbringing anyway. Really! Eia brilliantly shows them to be sadly misinformed (a euphemism for a less charitable descriptor). He chases around various countries, consulting people like Robert Plomin, Steven Pinker, Simon Baron- Cohen, Richard Lippa, David Buss, Simon LeVay, Richard Nisbett, and Judith Harris. Also Norwegian experts. He shows them what each said about the other, and asks for responses. Their reactions are revealing. This is a great documentary. Despite Eia's status as a leading comedian, it's not a comedy (in fact, in his person-in-the-street interviews he first has to convince his interviewees that he's actually going to be serious). Nevertheless, the presentation is entertaining, with a light-hearted touch. It's also packed with scientific content, visually-arresting images, and helpful diagrams. It moves at a rapid pace, with Norwegians talking very fast, and one can barely keep up with the subtitles. It's provocative and informative, and it sets a standard of excellence in presenting scientific information to the public. The series consists of seven 38-minute segments, posted on-line on a password-protected site. Here's the good news.Through an intermediary (thanks, Richard Lippa), I've received permission from one of the producers to make the urls and password available on TIPS. Here they are: Brainwash 1: 7 - "The Gender Equality Paradox" http://vimeo.com/19707588 Brainwash 2: 7 - "The Parental Effect" http://vimeo.com/19893826 Brainwash 3: 7 - "Gay/straight" http://vimeo.com/19869748 Brainwash 4: 7 - "Violence" http://vimeo.com/19921232 Brainwash 5: 7 - "Sex" http://vimeo.com/19921928 Brainwash 6: 7 - "Race" http://vimeo.com/19922972 Brainwash 7: 7 - "Nature or Nurture" http://vimeo.com/19889788 The password is "hjernevask" (no capital letters, no quotes). An article on the series and the controversy it generated is available here: http://tinyurl.com/2u4re4f You could also check out the short entry on Harald Eia on Wikipedia. But be warned. If you watch these, you may end up speaking with a Norwegian accent. Stephen -------------------------------------------- Stephen L. Black, Ph.D. Professor of Psychology, Emeritus Bishop's University Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada e-mail: sblack at ubishops.ca --------------------------------------------- --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected]. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5&n=T&l=tips&o=8956 or send a blank email to leave-8956-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
