The Advantage of Disadvantage

In this brief keynote speech, developmental psychologist and bestselling author of the book ‘The Sexual Paradox’ Susan Pinker explains why the outcome of sex differences isn’t always what one would expect it to be. Susan Pinker begins her speech with sharing some statistics on the development of young boys versus young girls. She reveals that young boys are twice as more likely than young girls to develop an attention deficient disorder, three times as more likely to develop a conduct disorder and four times as more likely to develop a language disorder. 

With that being said, she shares the stories of many young boys suffering from various developmental disorders who grew up to become extremely successful, working as a celebrity chef or a wealthy investment banker. Susan Pinker identifies this phenomenon as the advantage of disadvantage. She asks the audience to consider why this flip-side to proven biological defects is so common.