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Engineers Have More Sons, Nurses More Daughters

Posted by Hemos on from the but-what-about-female-engineers-and-male-nurses dept.

Bifurcati writes "While it might be irrelevant for many /.ers, a recent study has shown that people in stereotypically male professions (engineering, IT, mathematics, etc) are more likely to have sons than daughters, while nurses, therapists and teachers tend to produce more girls. Based on independent survey data, engineering types produce 140 boys to every 100 girls, while nurses and the like produce 135 girls to 100 boys. The explanation is unclear, but it might have interesting long-term social implications. A more detailed summary of the journal article is available on Illuminating Science."

8 of 668 comments (clear)

  1. Hermaphrodism by DTC · · Score: 0, Redundant

    So if a nurse mated with an engineer, is there more of a chance of hermaphrodism?

  2. Hermaphrodite by lbmouse · · Score: 0, Redundant

    So, if a nurse and engineer have only one child, chances are it will be a hermaphrodite? Suppose if they conceive it doggy-style they will have a hermaphrodite puppy? I hate these types of studies.

  3. The usual word of warning by slavemowgli · · Score: -1, Redundant

    Repeat after me, kids: Correlation does not imply causality.

    --
    quidquid latine dictum sit altum videtur.
  4. Hmmmm by vDiver · · Score: -1, Redundant

    So I am not an 'engineer' as such, but I am a computer geek by profession, and my wife is a Registered Nurse.

    1 girl, 1 boy

    Does that make the statistics work?

  5. I'm an engineer married to an RN by ink · · Score: -1, Redundant
    I'm an engineer married to an RN. We have 2 boys, so my anecdotal evidence says geek genes trump nurse genes.

    My wife was talking to a geneticist at her hospital last week; she was explaining that we had 2 children and that we were done (we aren't going to try for a girl). He told her that the odds of getting the opposite gender after the first two being the same gender is only 30%. I'm not sure if that's true, but it's what he said. So, if you have 2 girls first, then you only have a 30% chance of having a boy on the third try, even though the overall average is close to 50%.

    --
    The wheel is turning, but the hamster is dead.
  6. I'm married to a teacher, by talaski23 · · Score: -1, Redundant

    and i'm an engineer.

    we have 2 daughters

    guess i'll have to figure that one out

  7. So, 50/50 by joshsnow · · Score: 0, Redundant

    I work in IT. My wife teaches nursing. Does this mean we'll have a boy and a girl (please)? :)

  8. But... by marko123 · · Score: 0, Redundant

    I'm an engineer. What if I marry a nurse?

    --
    http://pcblues.com - Digits and Wood