[-1:-4.00] — the side most involved in language
[-1:-5.00]— and an exaggerated reaction on the right,
[-1:-6.00]the side strongest at thinking about the location of objects.
[-1:-7.00]It seems that the brains of boys with mathematical talent
[-1:-8.00]operate in a way that is physically unique.
[-1:-9.00]Benbow says she was surprised
[-1:10.00]that the talented girls should lack this pattern of response.
[-1:11.00]The only explanation she has is that male brains
[-1:12.00]have a tendency to become more divided during development,
[-1:13.00]with different functions located on one side of the brain or the other.
[-1:14.00]When this division is taken to an extreme,
[-1:15.00]unusual mathematical abilities result.
[-1:16.00]Because females do not have this tendency
[-1:17.00](this brain division is known to be influenced by male sex chemicals),
[-1:18.00]girls who perform well in mathematics are doing so
[-1:19.00]because they are superior in their overall mental development.
[-1:20.00]And because such all-round ability is less common,
[-1:21.00]this would be the reason for there being fewer mathematically talented girls.
[-1:22.00]Benbow is quick to add,however,
[-1:23.00]that cultural expectations probably exaggerate the difference.
[-1:24.00]In China,where girls are more likely to get encouragement in mathematics,
[-1:25.00]the number of gifted boys exceeds that of gifted girls by four to one,
[-1:26.00]rather than the thirteen to one seen in the United States.
[-1:27.00]Both Plomin's and Benbow's findings
[-1:28.00]would seem to give support to the argument
[-1:29.00]that outstanding mental abilities are largely the result of genetics.
[-1:30.00]But the conference heard equally strong evidence for the role
[-1:31.00]that environmental factors play in creating genius.

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