Are You Sure You're Better At Math Than Your Girlfriend?

As days went by, there’s a common stereotype towards women that tries to prove they’re not born to be excellent in math and other related STEM-related fields like science, technology or engineering. To remind, the controversial myth was first raised amongst people decades ago as a fragment of propaganda, making people believe that aptitude in mathematics depends on biological deficiencies, of which men are better than women.

To shed light on the problem, a team of researchers led by Jessica Cantlon from Carnegie Mellon Univ. started working on examinations to figure out the brain development of youngsters with both genders. In the end, this resulted in no gender difference when it comes to brain function as well as math ability. The research has gone viral after being published on the journal Science of Learning a few days ago.

Talking about the research, Cantlon claimed that science and folk beliefs are not on the same side. Irrespective of which gender a child belongs to, the similarities in brain function between genders will lead to his/her mathematical achievements equally.

Firstly, the team used a neuro-imaging method to study the math aptitude of young children based on their biological differences. A total of 104 children, in which the portion of boys and girls are 49/55, took part in a functional MRI measurement that focuses on evaluate their brain activity. Researchers used an educational video, including a handful of math topics like addition and counting, and let them watch. After that, the team compared brain scans to find the similarities amongst children.

Cantlon along with her colleagues did get numerous statistical comparisons and discovered that brain development isn’t based on gender. As such, this proves girls and boys boast the same math skills with no significant difference at all. In addition, the team also put the results in comparison with which they have from another standardized test named Test of Early Mathematics Ability with 97 participants were from 3 to 8 years old, comprising 50 girls and 47 boys. The test shares the same results when showing math ability doesn’t change dramatically on both gender and age bases.

To remind, females are steered away from math and STEM subjects because of the conservative society and cultures around the world. Throughout the history of humankind, girls likely had been treated unfairly since they got educated at either family or school - and even now, many teachers still prefer to spend more time to teach boys math due to their old-fashioned expectations.