ABSTRACT
The sex hormones affect not only the anatomical development of the reproductive organs but also that of certain brain structures, such as the hypothalamus and the amygdala. In New England Journal of Medicine, Daniel Hier and his colleagues report their observations of adolescent boys stricken with idiopathic hypogonadism, a condition that manifests itself by a low level of androgens (the male hormones). At this point, the data fit together reasonably well: the male hormones, which endocrinologists have shown interact with the brain, may confer greater spatial aptitudes with regard to mathematical ability. The cultural process accentuates the biological difference because, in the final analysis, it is biologically advantageous to do so—meaning that the behaviors underlying it confer a greater chance of reproductive success. The purpose of culture is not to replace the circle of life but to make it rotate more efficiently.
