Originally Posted by Bostonian
Originally Posted by Dude
Rather than let you continue to hijack the thread with bad arguments in defense of an untenable position (Archie Bunker was a buffoon even in his own time),
You and others have hijacked the thread with personal attacks on someone you disagree with.

The topic of the thread is the role of parents (fathers, specifically) in promoting interest in STEM among girls. You have indicated that you are not actively encouraging your daughter in the pursuit of STEM, and that she isn't showing an early leaning in that direction. Thank you for your contribution.

Dude is the original poster of the thread. He has attempted to corral the discussion to the original topic, with incremental levels of patience, and he has substantiated his initial query with outside resources. His interest is in the role of environmental factors that elicit female interest in STEM, and he is soliciting feedback to optimize his support for his DD. That is not hijacking, it is the purpose of the forum and, specifically, this thread.

It was your post (#241857) which initiated a discussion of biological determinism of female math skills, which is a redux of a long and open disagreement on the forum. I am hereby posting a thread in which it is appropriate to discus biological determinism and the genetic component of various abilities, as this seems to be a subject of considerable interest to you, so that we have a side valve in which to release these unnecessary--and wholly unproductive--frictions.

Here is the thread-
http://giftedissues.davidsongifted.org/BB/ubbthreads.php/topics/241885.html#Post241885

It undermines the quality of discussion here to be regularly inundated with off-subject messaging suggesting that females are simply innately too incompetent to excel in STEM fields. Properly distilled, this is the argument you are forwarding, and it is abhorrent.

This is a forum for parents of gifted children sincerely seeking to improve the access to high quality gifted education for our families and others. Individual differences in abilities and outcomes exist, often with divergences between the two that merit exploration. We can do better than to categorically write off half the population with trite bro-science.

What is to give light must endure burning.