“Women’s Brains” Response

1.  Gould’s purpose in his essay “Women’s Brains” is to assert that there is no intellectual reason as to why female brains are smaller than male brains. He discredits Broca and other biologists who have tried to explain why there are differences in the weight of male and female brains by stating that the difference in weight is not 113 grams (Broca’s assessment) but is closer to zero.
2. He is able to accomplis his goal/prupose through sarcasam. He states that, “113 grams, by the way, is exactly the average difference between a 5 foot 4 inch and 6 foot 4 inch male in Broca’s data. We would not… want to ascribe greater intelligence to tall men.” This statement allows the reader to, if they are short, and even if they are not, connect with what Gould is saying, because just because someone is taller than you does not mean that they are smarter.
3. I agree with Gould’s point in the essay. There is no reason to try and prove that women are less smart than men or that the difference in brain weight plays a factor in intelligence because those ideas are absurd. There are plenty of women who are smarter than me and that is a fact.