Male/Female %Male / %Female

More often we are oblivious of the misconception and dogmas we carry around. Alan Turing, the famous computer scientist who formalized the concept of algorithm and broke WWII German code Enigma was incarcerated and cursed to ignominious humiliation for his homosexual affinity by the authority, would have died happy had he not killed himself prematurely. The society that he belonged to, took few more decades to learn and accept that homosexuality is not a social crime. Since that time, science has advanced a lot. Big data analytics with massive computational power enabled the scientist to analyze extremely large demographic  and biological data with spectacular ease. Human Genome along with many other species are decoded entirely. Many of the irregularities which used to be considered as nature's whims earlier, are understood to be simply a statistical norm. How real, for example, is the male/female difference? Do they have completely different design?
When does a foetus become male or female? Medical science tells us that a human embryo starts showing first sign of transformation to boy/girl at around 9th week in the womb. In other words an embryo assumes its sexual orientation quite early in its journey. So, one could safely assume that male/female boundary is quite distinct, right?
Actually no.
We already know that there is a sizable human population who do not abide by this clear boundaries, for whom the boundary is less physical and more social. The data shows  that 1 out of every 1600 newborns are intersexuals and 1 out of every 100 new born is ambiguous w.r.t sex. Calculate the number for present world population and you will appreciate that data better.
Biological evidences aside, how about human mind? Does it have innate male/female traits?
There are popular [and pseudo-scientific] beliefs that male and female differences are irreconcilable. How often have you heard "all men are alike" or "Even God can't read women's mind!"? There are no reasons that millions of copies of 'Men from Mars, Women from Venus' are sold worldwide, right?
Well latest researches indicate otherwise. Neuroscience tells us that male/female is a continuum rather than well-separated set of traits. In this paper [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3176412/] the author tells us that "For most documented sex differences in the brain, however, and in particular in regions involved in behavior, emotion, and cognition, there is a considerable overlap between the distributions of the two sexes."
It asserts further that, "Current data on the effects of environmental events on brain structure strongly suggest that heterogeneity in the “male/female” type of an individual’s brain characteristics is the rule, rather than the exception. Specifically, prenatal and postnatal manipulations (e.g., exposing dams to stress, maternal separation, rearing conditions, early handling, acute and chronic postnatal stress, prenatal exposure to psychoactive drugs, anesthesia) have been shown in rats to reverse, abolish, create, or exaggerate sex differences in brain characteristics.." The paper concludes therefore that for us, 'different individuals will have different combinations of “male” and “female” brain characteristics'. 

Top graph shows distinct
non-overlap in physical strength
while the bottom graph
shows striking overlap in
psychological trait of
assertiveness[source: Huffington Post]

Another recent research published in Journal of Personality and Social Psychology also tells us that when it comes to psychological traits, there is a whole lot more overlap than there is difference [see the bottom graph in picture]. [source: Huffington Post]. 
Brains, therefore, appear to be neither “male” nor “female,” they are “intersex”.
So next time, you try to blame the other sex, think twice!
And in case you are curious to know what percentage your brain is male/female, try this BBC quiz: