Beginning of Class Writing: John Medina’s Brain Rules, Gender

For today’s class, you read the Gender chapter from John Medina’s Brain Rules. This is one of the more challenging chapters to read in this book, because the reader has to carefully follow what Medina says about the similarities and differences observed between the brains of women and men. During the first ten minutes of class, write your summary of the chapter, and discuss the relationship between what Medina tells us and your own direct experience.

15 thoughts on “Beginning of Class Writing: John Medina’s Brain Rules, Gender

  1. Darien Laurencin

    As a male I would like to think myself as the more dominant gender. As I read John Medina Brain Rules gender chapter I came to the conclusion that male and female are very different, but both is equally important. Male have an X and Y gene while the female have two X genes. Because of that female can shut down one of the X gene, but the male cannot since he only have one X gene. This makes males a lot more receptive to illnesses. Females are also able to be better than males at remembering by using both sides of the brain while males mostly use only one side. This helps females have better communication skills and more likely to be some sort of nurturer to a child or someone. Another aspect John Medina Brain Rules gender chapter stated was the emotional aspect between each gender. Have you ever wondered why there more crimes and violence in males then females. It is more than a mental issue that goes deeper than you think. The female are more able to regulate their emotion and express it less violently than males do. Based on my own experiences during high school most of fights that I witnessed was between females. Although more serious crimes and acts of violence is made by males. Because female express their emotions more, in high if two females have a problems with each other they was more likely to start arguing or fight. Me being a male I tend to be looked and, “put the money on the table.” Females are capable of doing anything a man do mentally. No matter what gender you are remember to love yourself.

  2. Aaron Chen

    In then “Gender” chapter in John Medina’s Brain Rules, he talks about how gender plays a role in how our brain works. Males and females are really different in the way their emotions work when confronted with a certain event. They are also different in the fact that men exhibit more of an anti-social behavior whereas females exhibit a more anxiety or anorexic behavior. This might explain why its usually men whom have alcohol and drug problems and why its mostly women who have eating disorders. Addition to that, men and women take stress really differently. In a research conducted by Larry Cahill, he tested how male and females react to a slasher film. The two genders acted completely different. Amygdale was fired up in the right side of the men’s brain which is responsible for the gist of events whereas the the amygdale lit up on the left side of the women’s brain which is responsible for the details. This shows how differently each gender comprehends and percieves information presented to them. This might explain why women usually remember things mroe clearly when it comes to arguments with men. Men just remember the gyst of what happened whereas women would remember every single detail and use it against us. Its amazing how gender can play such a big role in how the human brain works.

  3. Arjoon H

    John Medina’s Gender chapter explains the actual differences between male and female brains development and who their minds are different. He starts off on the molecular level stating that men have two chromosomes, X and Y, while women have two X. Each X chromosome contains about 1,500 genes and a Y contains about 100. Females having both X’s are able to use only one while the other remains dormant. Females are the ones who houses the first X chromosome while the men have both, which ever one gets delivered is entirely up to chance. Medina also goes on to say that men have a higher chance of having mental problems because we only have one X chromosome which houses the majority of our genes. Women are less likely because they have two, they are able to switch in the event the first one gets damaged in any way. Now to a mental level men and women are different as well. Firstly their brains itself is physically different. Men have larger amygdala’s while females have larger prefrontal and frontal cortices. For men this allows us to regulate emotions better due to the fact that serotonin is released about 52% faster than women. However for women their physical difference allows them to be able to be better speakers. The Prefrontal and Fontal cortices were the last parts of the brain to develop and, according to an earlier chapter, governs the newest evolutionary traits such as speech. Women are able to talk using both hemispheres of their brains while men only use the right. To add male brains communicate with the right side and females communicate with the left side. This is why men only get the gist of a situation while females remember every single small detail. When it comes to the brain males and females are far from being on the same page.

  4. Taylor Marie Hernandez

    In the Gender chapter by Medina, he explains to us how both the male and female brains are different. Males have a bigger amygdala and are able to produce serotonin faster. Both men and women respond to acute stress in different ways. Women activate the left hemispheres amygdala and remember emotional details where as men activate the right side of the amygdala and get gists. There are many differences between both men and female. It all starts off in our brains when the genes determine whether we should be male or female. The male has one X and Y chromosome and women has two X chromosomes.The X chromosome acts as a backup is a cognitive “hot spot”, carrying an unusually large percentage of genes involved in brain manufacture. Each X chromosome contains about 1,500 genes and a Y contains about 100.

  5. Carlos Villalva

    The battle of the sex’s, Male vs Female, which gender is superior to the other? Well truth is that both is gender equally superior to the other. Such in many case a male can be a lot better than a female and at other cases a female are better than male. The battle of the sexes isn’t just a battle that occur just recently, but it has been an ongoing battle from forever. It is important to know the difference between the concept of sex and gender, sex is the talking about an individual biologically and gender is about the social expectation that is put on them. Both male and female respond differently to stress, according to Larry Cahill. When at stress, the amygdale was turn on the right side for male and they get the gist of it. While the amygdale for female turn on their left side of their brain and they are able to remember the emotional detail of things. Both male and female, brains are structurally and biochemically different form one another. In most case, physically male are much stronger than female, whereas female have better endurance than to their male counterpart. Why is in many case, one gender are better than to the other at certain case? I believe that both gender are equal, in the day they are born, but what makes them different is the environment they are born and raise form. John Medina state “boys and girls are treated differently socially the moment they are born, and they are often reared in societies filled with centuries of entrenched prejudice. If we are able to strip prejudice in our social society, than our society will be better.

  6. Rolando Barredo

    In this chapter, Medina discusses he differences our brains have due to gender. This goes as deep as discussing ho our genes differ as well, or in other words, what genes make you a male/female. For men, we are made of one X and Y chromosome, while women are made of two XX chromosomes. X chromosomes are very complex, which means that women have more complex brains than men. Our amygdalas are different as well. The speed that we each release serotonin (the feel good hormone) is quicker than how fast women release it. This is up for debate whether it affects any other processes as well. Gender differences can also be noted with school and workplace scenarios. It is said that women are better at conversations, empathizing with the speaker, and showing compassion. Growing up with just my mom in my household has really shown me that this is true. She can also instantly tell if something is wrong with me. If I have a problem, she will listen to me and stop whatever she is doing to make that possible. In my family, my mom’s oldest brother, my uncle, is the most like my father. Of course, he shows the same love, but is more of a macho figure, and will always tell me to be tough, no matter what the situation. It wasn’t always about listening to my problems. That is my personal experience, one that I’m sure many people have.

  7. William Santiago

    Here I thought that male and female were different because one was a boy and the other was a girl. However, it goes further than just the superficial side of things. Within the Gender chapter of John Medina’s “Brain Rules”, he explains some of the logic that may be found behind some stereotypical thoughts between the differences of male and female, and explains them through the use of research that has been done on both genders. When it comes to the genetic make up of humans, males carry one X and one Y chromosome, where as females on the other had carry two X chromosomes. It is due to this extra X chromosome that the genetic makeup found in females are far more complex than that of a males. This is due to the extra X chromosome being a mix of mom’s and dad’s cells. It is also due to this extra X chromosome that is found in females that they’re more males than females with disabilities. The reason for this is because since males only have one X chromosome and not two of them, men are much more likely to suffer from mental disorders than females. Not only is the genetic make up of the two genders different, but the way the brains are structured are different as well. The amygdala found in a males brain is bigger than that of a females. It is because f this that males produce serotonin faster than females. This faster production of serotonin allows men to regulate there emotions more efficiently than women. The brains of both genders also respond differently to acute stress. Women tend to activate the left hemisphere of the amygdala which enables them to remember more of the emotional aspects of situations. Where as males on the other hand tend to activate the right hemisphere of their brains, which in return, only enables men to get the gist of things. It is because of this difference that women generally are better at describing certain events over that of a mans ability to do so.

  8. p nardeo

    Medina starts off this chapter by saying “the man was a hot dog and the woman was a bitch”. He then went into more scientific detail on how we became either a male or a female. He said that it all starts with the genes. They are assign to be X or Y. To make a human you need 46 chromosomes, two of them will determine whether you are a man or a women, and that’s all depend on the father genes. If you have two X chromosomes you will be a lady and if you have an X and a Y chromosome you will me a man. Male are more prone to be mentally ill because we only have one X chromosome. If it is damage during the process, they are no backup for it to fall back on. They is only one change to get us male right. On the other hand female have two X chromosomes, one just stay there just for a backup. X chromosome is important because they carry a large percentage of the genes involving of the brain manufacturing. Women are more complex because of the fact that they cells are a mix from both the mother and father while the male are only from they mother. Both Man and women brain are different both structurally and biochemically. Without this the world would be as wonderful as it is right now.

  9. Alex Feng

    In the gender chapter of John Medina’s Brain Rules, it brings the topic of gender and how it may affect our brains. There are two chromosomes, X and Y. Women have two x chromosomes and men have one x and one y chromosomes. Women have the privilege to choose which x chromosomes they want to use from either their mom or dad, while men can only use their x chromosomes given by their mom which explains why some guys are mamma boys. However, men have the ability to regulate their emotion and mood 52% better than women which is why women tend to express their feelings with more emotion while men tend to bottle in their emotions and then express it in rage or all of a suddenly. Also each person is different from each other because in the necessary x chromosome there are 1500 genes that govern how each person thinks and changes base on what they experienced.

  10. shamach campbell

    In John Medina “Brain Rules” gender chapter, he talks about how the brains of men compare to the brains of women and vice versa, but how both are equally important. Both men and women have something known as chromosomes in their genes; the only difference being men have both an X chromosome and Y chromosome, were as women just have two X chromosomes. According to the book, the X chromosome is referred to as a “cognitive hot spot”, it carries a large percent of gens involved in brain manufacturing. This would explain why females are genetically more complex. When it comes to how the brain is structured between men and women, it can be tough finding certain areas that aren’t controlled by the X and Y chromosomes. There are a lot of differences such as, the size of the cortex being much fatter in women, to the other biochemical and brain cells involved. In fact it’s stated in the chapter that the amygdala (the part of the brain involved in memory and emotion) tends to communicate with certain hemispheres of the brain. For men it tends to talks mostly with the right hemisphere, and for women it’s the left. It is also stated that men and women respond to stress in certain ways, for instance women will remember it with more emotional detail while men get the gist of the situation.

  11. alejandra

    In the gender chapter of John Medina’s book he stated how the brain differentiate men from the women. He started the chapter introducing the amount of chromosomes that a women and men have, he also remark that women have 2 X chromosomes, while the men have 1 Y chromosome and another X chromosome, because of this doble X chromosome on the women, they seems to be more complex than the men. According to Medina women has the ability of better communication than men, this is because women uses both sides of the brain, while the men just uses one. moreover Medina stated that women have more retentive than what the male does, that is why we always remember thing from really long ago, while the male just remember few things, adding to this it was also stated that women are more sentimental and express more their felling compared to the men what the men does it’s act violent tower the other person and that causes many trouble . I can said they are 100% right because i can recognize the way people around me act and react to the different situation life make us to face, we the female are more of screaming and not acting, but men it’s the opposite, they react more violent but they never said anything.

  12. Jean Betances

    In John Medina’s “Gender” chapter in Brain rules he talks about the differences and similarities between men and women. Females have two “X” chromosomes while males have an “X” and “Y” chromosome. Females are able to dismiss one of the “X” chromosomes while males cannot leaving us more vulnerable which is why males are more prone to illness and diseases. This also makes more capable of handling their emotions which in turn makes them better communicators. If you look up the statistics you’ll notice that males are the majority in violent crimes. This is believed to be one of the reasons this happens. The brains of male and females are also physically different and store information in different parts of the brain. One last thing is that females are able to remember things in details while men usually just remember the main idea of something.

  13. Edinsson.P

    In John Medina’s “Brain Rules”, he introduces the brain rules number 11 “gender”. Medina discuss that science behind how gender is decided. To create a human being you need 46 chromosomes , 23 from both parents. The male parent decides the gender of the baby , since the sperm is the only one who carries the Y chromosome. The female parent”s egg has only X. If during the development baby would get two X, then that baby would be female and if that would carry a X and Y the result is male baby. In addition, he says that if during development a baby would be missing a X chromosome then that baby would die , sadly.Furthermore, males and females have different brain structure. The female have the ability to remember things much better than males and males can control their emotions better than females. In my opinion, females are physically stronger than males are. I base this thoughts on experience and some scientific facts. A sperm with female gender can survive longer than males can and this at a molecular level. I find that I learn better from female professors vs male professors. Yes males made seem physically stronger due to genetics, also can be just great as females and everyone is different.

  14. Reynaldo

    In the Gender chapter John medina talks about how the Brain for a man and a woman are different. He mentions that that men’s brain and women’s brains start with genes which determines if we become male or female to begin with. he includes information about an important chromosome called X. they are writhing strings that carry DNA in the cell nucleus that contains the information that make us. Men’s brains have X chromosomes and Y chromosomes, and that women’s have two X chromosomes, it also takes 46 chromosomes to make to creating us, 23 from mom and 23 from dad. The X chromosomes carry 1,500 genes and Y chromosomes carry less than 100 genes. Males gets most of their X chromosomes from their mothers which makes us Momma’s Boys.

  15. Ryan Karran

    The gender chapter of John Medina’s “Brain Rules” focuses on the differences between the males and females brains. He mentions how males are born with both and X and Y chromosomes but the females are just born with 2 Y chromosomes. That’s because one Y chromosome acts as a backup. Because females have an extra Y chromosome, they are less susceptible to mental diseases compared to men. Medina also mentions how men have bigger a amygdala compared to that of a women. Therefore men can produce serotonin, key to regulating emotion and mood, about 52% faster. This is why females are more likely to get depressed while men are just more likely to become antisocial. Whilst females are more likely to have anxiety, males tend to become alcoholics and drug addicts. The female amygdala tends to talk mostly to the left hemisphere so when stressed, that tend to remember the emotional details. Men’s amygdala, however, talk to the right and get the gist of the information

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