Thursday, September 22, 2016

How About Some Weird Science on Ovulation and Map Reading

The research premise was women may be able to do map reading tasks better or worse depending on whether they're ovulating.  (Science Daily:  Map-reading more difficult for women during ovulation)

The science validated there really is a difference and this extends the knowledge of the influence of hormones on thought processes but what will Lieutenant Hackensack do about Sergeant Sally when it's her turn to read the map.  If there's any thought there will be any difference in that reading based on her time in her menstrual cycle, he's probably going to tell her to sit out this campaign.  He will find another map reader.

Please don't be sending the flying monkeys since we're not proposing anything.  We're still pissed off that the Equal Rights Amendment wasn't ratified in the eighties.  There's no opposition to any kind of equal rights but we question what this science will add to that.  Any difference between humans whatsoever becomes some Big Political Deal and hence the concern.


That hormones have influence on thinking in this way is unusual but not for the action of hormones overall since they can easily make us crazy as loons.  Better understanding of how they work is always important but this time it's different because it can be used as a lever to differentiate men and women.


We really don't have any sci-fi extension of this since "THX 1138" got as far out as you will probably want with mandatory use of drugs.  Extrapolate that out to controlled use of hormones by the state for behavior control and you've got all the medical tyranny you could possibly want.

Preferably we would like to see some sci-fi extension which actually does something we like and perhaps not the ubiquitous dream of putting hormones into contrails of jet exhaust to control the proletariat.  If that really does happen, we have one simple observation:  it doesn't fuckin' work.


Frankly, Dagwood, we really don't know where to go with this one and it's going to be assigned the category of Science That Makes You Go Hmmm.

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