A great TED talk by Antonio Damasio about the biology of consciousness.  He is right to state that understanding consciousness is incredibly important for understanding society and culture, and I am here to emphasize it is important for understanding aspects of our legal system.  Obviously the most important implications would come for criminal law, but I think his talk also touches on the important implications for animal law.  It seems more and more we are discovering that animals are not as different from us as we once thought.

Every time I read about a new discovery regarding consciousness, I am amazed at how little we understand about ourselves.  With new brain imaging technology and better computer processing power, hopefully a truly better understanding of one of life’s most basic questions will come to pass.

In 2005, Larry Summers infamously gave a talk about the reasons there are fewer women in the highest echelons of math and science.  In it, he stated, ”In the special case of science and engineering, there are issues of intrinsic aptitude, and particularly of the variability of aptitude, and that those considerations are reinforced by what are in fact lesser factors involving socialization and continuing discrimination.”

While numerous academics have chiseled away at the “intrinsic aptitude” theory, a new study by Jonathan Kane and Janet Mertz entitled, “Debunking Myths About Gender and Mathematics Performance” has finally put it to rest.  In fact, the article finds that the gender gap is entirely caused by those “lesser factors.”  Here is a great article summarizing the findings.

In my opinion the most important aspect of the paper is the finding that both boys and girls do better in math in a society where there is greater equality.  This makes sense intuitively, because when women are equally educated and earn equal pay their children will do better.  This finding is extremely important, as it contradicts those that see advancing the welfare of women as a “female problem.”  This is just another piece of evidence to demonstrate that when women are treated equally, we all benefit.

Now if only someone would do a study that finds women also aren’t intrinsically better at cleaning and taking care of children, we might actually get somewhere.

“Durban and everything that matters”

This Economist article reviews the recent Durban agreements, and aggregates the coverage from several reputable sources. The Financial Times appear optimistic. “Finally the world agreed that every country, no matter how rich or poor, would cut its greenhouse gas emissions under a global pact with ‘legal force’.” The Council of Foreign Relations had a more measured reaction. Michael Levi notes that the ultimate agreement – “a process to develop a protocol, another legal instrument or an outcome with legal force under the Convention applicable to all Parties” – might refer to almost anything, regardless of its impact on Climate Change. David Roberts from Grist.org is similarly pessimistic. His report on the talks highlights the indeterminate and relatively non-binding nature of the promise to develop an agreement by 2015. (December 12, 2011)

For the article (Economist), see http://tinyurl.com/8924hqe

For the Financial Times coverage, see http://tinyurl.com/7momlzm

For the Council on Foreign Relations coverage, see http://tinyurl.com/7o6ssgr

For David Roberts and Grist.org, see http://tinyurl.com/73enpy7