CAPACITY FOR SCIENTIFIC PURSUITS 



and who, collectively, have carefully weighed many thou- 

 sands of brains, the average brain weight of men in Europe 

 is 1381 grams, while that of women is 1237 grams. This 

 shows a difference between the average weight of the brain 

 in man and woman of 144 grams. 



But, if it must be conceded that the absolute weight of 

 man 's brain is greater than woman 's, is it likewise true that 

 the relative weight is greater? This is a question which 

 demands an answer, as it is impossible to come to any 

 just conclusion respecting the intellectual capacity of 

 woman expressed in terms of brain weight, unless we can 

 affirm with certainty that men's brains are relatively, as 

 well as absolutely, larger than those of women. 



Speaking of the relative weight of brain in man implies 

 a term of comparison. Several methods of estimating the 

 sexual proportions of brain mass have been suggested, but 

 only two of them have met with any favor. These are de- 

 termining the ratio of brain weight to body weight or body 

 height. 



According to the investigations of anthropologists of ac- 

 knowledged authority, the average brain weight of woman 

 is to that of man in England and France as 90 is to 100. 

 The average stature of men and women in the same coun- 

 tries is as 93 to 100. This gives man an excess of brain 

 weight over that of woman of something more than an 

 ounce. But this slight difference in weight has been con- 

 sidered sufficient to constitute it "a fundamental sexual 

 distinction." When, however, it is considered that men 

 are not only taller but also larger than women, this appar- 

 ent advantage of an ounce in favor of the male entirely 

 disappears, and the result is that the relative amount of 

 brain mass in the two sexes is practically equal. 



Because of the manifest inaccuracy of the stature cri- 

 terion, many eminent anthropologists have prepared to 

 estimate sexual differences in brain weight by adopting the 

 method based on the ratio of brain mass to body weight. 



