Commitment Phobia and Genetics

Science News reports:
"The study, to appear in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, is the first to try to examine whether a hormone that encourages monogamy in animals plays a similar role in male humans. Before getting ideas about a DNA-fidelity test, though, women should consider that the study wasn’t designed to determine how much — or even whether — the gene in question is responsible for monogamy in humans.

“We can’t with any accuracy predict effects on behavior,” says Hasse Walum of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm. “A lot of different things determine how happy you will be in a relationship.”

And just as I was thinking that a gene alone cannot be responsible for all the intricate layers of a relationship and the commitment that goes into it, I got to the end of the article which states:

"Marital harmony is determined by the behavior of two complex individuals, of which genes play only a part.

“It will be labeling a lot of people in a way that will be absolutely wrong,” Young says. “There’s so much more that goes into the quality of a relationship than a single gene.”

Interesting read. Find it all here.

graph per science news

Mad Men and Careers

If you are interested in experiencing what gender differences in the work places were like in the 50's and 60's, give the new AMC show Mad Men a shot. This is the only show that's fully grabbed my attention and to which I'm giving a 9/10. Mad Men is now on its second season.
The show portrays rather dexterously familial tension, intrigue, professional and personal inadequacies, gender differences, body perceptions, clothing as text, homosociality and much more. Plus, the main character, Mr. Draper, is played by the uber-talented Jon Hamm. Watch it. It won't disappoint.
Here is a snippet:

graph per amc

School and Work: Girl Power?

For some the work place experience is not reminiscent of the mostly egalitarian classroom experience.
A new feature on the Times says:

"Then I left the egalitarianism of the classroom for the cubicle, and everything changed. The realization that the knowledge and skills acquired in school don’t always translate at the office is something that all college graduates, men and women, must face. But for women, I have found, the adjustment tends to be much harder. It was certainly hard for me — I lasted only nine months in my first job out of college.

Inspired by my own rocky entrance into the work world, I decided to interview other young women and discovered that many of them, like me, were facing a steep workplace learning curve. What was it, I wondered, that was making our first career steps so wobbly when we had been so accomplished and self-assured in school?"

Read it here.

graph per ny times

Maureen Writes

I enjoy reading Maureen Dowd of the Times for the most part. The sentence of the day comes from her:
"Instead of going home and watching “Miss Congeniality” with Sandra Bullock, I get to stay here and watch “Miss Congeniality” with Sarah Palin.

Sheer heaven."
Read all here.
graph per ny times