Gender Mosaic: Beyond the Myth of the Male and Female Brain

For generations, we've been taught that the brains of females and males differ in profound and important ways. According to this story, the female brain has a large communication center and a large emotion center, and is hard-wired for empathy. The male brain, on the other hand, has a large sex center and a large aggression center, and is hard-wired for building systems. This story seems to provide us with a neat biological explanation for much of what we encounter in day-to-day life. It explains why women are more sensitive and emotional, whereas men are more aggressive and sexual; why most teachers are women, and most engineers, men. But is it actually true?

According to neuroscientist Daphna Joel, it's not. And inGender Mosaic, she sets forth a bold and compelling argument that thoroughly debunks the notion of gendered brains. Drawing on the groundbreaking results of her own studies and the latest scientific evidence, Dr. Joel explains that every individual human brain is actually a unique mixture -- or mosaic -- of "male" and "female" features, and that these features don't map neatly into two categories.

With urgent practical implications for the way we understand the world around us,Gender Mosaicis a fascinating look at the science of gender -- how it works, its history, and its future -- and a sorely needed investigation into the false basis for many of our most foundational assumptions.