Viliam_Bur comments on 2014 Survey Results - Less Wrong

87 Post author: Yvain 05 January 2015 07:36PM

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Comment author: seez 04 January 2015 11:10:11AM 1 point [-]

Could someone explain or link to an explanation of the significance of the feminism-digit ratio connection? Why is it exciting?

Comment author: Viliam_Bur 07 January 2015 10:07:59AM *  2 points [-]

I was imagining a ritual where a devoted feminist cuts off an end of their finger, as a symbolic castration of the internalized patriarchy.

But the official version is that digit ratios are influenced by sex hormones. So if something correlates with the digit ratio, it suggests that it could correlate with the sex hormones. Essentially, the question seems to be: "Are our political opinions about feminism influenced biologically by our sex hormones?" Of course, even if we see a correlation, it wouldn't immediately prove that feminism is determined biologically... but it is a piece of data that is interesting and easy to collect, so we collect it.