Oh, boy! If these bloggers are to be believed (and I have no reason to doubt what they have written), the strange and inaccurate way that neuroscience was portrayed in the new book by Naomi Wolf seems to have topped anything seen in the last few months. In fact, it sounds like it could be used as a book-length routine for a standup comic.
Why am I mentioning this book, one that appears to be high in wackiness? As a reminder to all of us that just because something is in print, even if it's written by an author with name recognition, does not mean you should necessarily believe it sails even close to the shore of neuroscience credibility.
From "Feminist Dopamine, Conscious Vaginas, and the Goddess Array" (The Neurocritic):
This unlikely combination of pseudoscientific and mystical elements provides a little something for everyone to hate. Among neuroscientists, howlers such as "dopamine is the ultimate feminist chemical in the female brain", oxytocin "is women's emotional superpower" and the vagina is "not only coextensive with the female brain but also is part of the female soul" have been making the rounds of social media.
I almost feel sorry for Ms. Wolf because it's like shooting fish in a barrel. Dopamine is not a feminist neurotransmitter, unless snails and insects have been secretly reading Betty Friedan and listening to Bikini Kill.
Click to read the rest.
From "Naomi Wolf's "Vagina" is full of bad science about the brain" (NewStatesman):
Naomi Wolf has a new book out. Here’s an extract. It’s proven controversial. I’m not going to discuss Wolf’s politics, nor will I mention the famous "pasta incident" as I don’t think I can write anything sensible about that event. I am however a neuroscientist, and for a book about the vagina, Wolf seems to mention the brain a lot.
So let’s see how brainy it is.
The writer then details some of the problems with what Wolf has written. Click to read the rest.
Puzzling that Wolf would write something so careless about brain science.
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