Now, there's proof: Men, women different

The Washington Times ^ | December 2, 2005 | Jennifer Harper

[neverdem]

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The Washington Timeswww.washingtontimes.com

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Now, there's proof: Men, women different

By Jennifer Harper
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Published December 2, 2005

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Attention, Dr. Frankenstein, and maybe Gloria Steinem: There are girl brains, then there are boy brains. But there's not one generic human brain, no matter what hand-wringing feminists may insist in their quest for sexual equality.

    Some stark new clinical evidence shows that men and women are just not the same upstairs.

    "The comedians are right. The science proves it. A man's brain and a woman's brain really do work differently," a research team from the University of Alberta in Canada announced yesterday.

    After analyzing magnetic resonance imaging (MRIs) of 23 men and 10 women, the team found that the sexes use different areas of the brain even when working on exactly the same task.

    "The larger implications of this work is that we may increasingly find out that there are differences in the 'hard wiring' of male and female brains," said study author Dr. Peter Silverstone, a psychiatrist.

    Though Dr. Silverstone hopes that these revelations will lead to more innovative ways to treat depression and other mental illnesses, these findings might one day explain certain persistent behaviors that make for a more lively existence.

    Why do men, for example, refuse to ask for directions while women are busy peering at maps and landmarks during the same automobile journey? Why do women cry and men sleep through a sappy movie? Could it be that old hard-wiring?

    During the Canadian study, volunteers were given memory, language, spatial and coordination tests while their brains were monitored through the MRIs.

[djf]

What is this fixation about the map stuff when it comes to men?

I guess the women need something to complain about because most of us guys don't really worry all that much about shoes...

[MortMan]

Irony: A woman that thinks MEN are mysterious!!!

Seriously, by your definition (regarding pay), I must be a feminist, too. Equal jobs (including performance), with equal tenure, should ALWAYS be equal pay.

[Edit35]

Men and women are different?

Nah. Dont believe it.

Didn't you see the long line of women trying for defensive line slots with the Denver Bronco's?

And then there's all those XX-tra large and bulky sizes of see-through underwear at Victoria's Secret - just for men.

/////// Maybe these articles regarding men and women make interesting reading on commuter trains, but do people taken the premise seriously that the two sexes are the same.

[RockinRight]

Men: "I was out bowling with my friends"

Women: "The baby is yours..."

[najida]

I can read a map without any problem. I have twenty maps in my car and I've driven all over the state, by myself. Come to think of it, I've driven all over the SE with my maps.

I've also got a good sense of direction and can always find my way in unfamiliar situations.

Oh yeah, and I do put on make-up in the car....at one of the 20 stoplights on the way to work. Never while the car is moving (making best use of down time)

And I don't talk on the cellphone while driving (unless its an emergency..... like someone calling me for directions ;) )

[SoothingDave]

Some studies have indicated that women and men perceive directions differently. Between 2/3 or 3/4 of women always give directions using left/right terminology. Men are about a mirror image with similar ratios always giving directions using North/East/South/West terminology. I don't know if this is hard wired since there was a correlation between city and country dwellers with city dwellers tending more, regardless of sex, to use the right/left terminology and country dwellers, also regardless of sex, tending to use the compass direction terminology.

I think you've got to figure in topography as well. In a flat area of the country, it's easy to locate east or west because roads are generally laid out that way, on a square.

Come to a hilly area where roads wind around hills and valleys and what exactly is north or east at a given intersection is not always as easy to figure out.

There is a section of Interstate in rural Virginia that is I-77 south and I-81 north simultaneously.

Try to figure that one out with your cave man reckoning!

SD

[mylife]

ROTFLMAO

Its funny because its true!

[JoeSixPack1]

If I find that camera you have in my house, you're gonna pay,, BIG TIME!!!
ROFLMAO!!

[Aracelis]

Maybe we have to be called neo-feminists or something, but I abandoned the feminist label when the radical man-hating lesbian baby killers moved in to stay (1972?). I just wanted a fair shake.

I like it! FreeRepublic's Neo-Feminists...just looking for a "fair shake"! :)

[Aracelis]

Irony: A woman that thinks MEN are mysterious!!!

They has some other fine qualities too. My only complaint is that most (not all) men don't know how to just listen to a woman and let her vent.

[Aracelis]

...making the 'woo-woo' sound.

Never did quite understand this behavior.

[MortMan]

From my decidedly male point of view, females of this species are the most mysterious creatures in all of creation!

Have a great day!

[12chachacha]

Womens thoughts are filtered through emotion while mens thoughts are, wait a minute, I lost my train of thought. I was thinking about boobs again.

[DugwayDuke]

Any time you can see the sun, you can figure out where North is. Also the big dipper.

[Serb5150]

[GraniteStateConservative]

It's okay to cry, if your leg is caught in a bear trap.

[NotJustAnotherPrettyFace]

Truth is, on long trip dates, women never help when driving (some even claim they cannot read maps, empowered in passive aggressivness but have a right to be blind and stupid), and if they do, you have to buy them flowers or something, like it were unexpected.

Watch your words, pal! ;-)

I would not be one of them. In fact, I've been the Designated Family Navigator since the age of 5. I once drove all the way back to Chicago from Columbia, SC going up the eastern seaboard to DC to sight see along the way, with 3 adolescent children in the car, none of whom were a whole lot of help with a map at that age. And without getting "lost" ONCE!

[-YYZ-]

You're exactly right. I never learned to navigate by compass directions because around where I grew up roads seldom went in any one clearly discernable direction for very long. I learned to navigate with intimate knowledge of the roads in the area where I lived. Not to say that I can't read a map, and now that I live in an area where the rural roads are basically on a grid I can navigate by the sun or moon and the time of day.

[Is2C]

Actually, there was a study done about a year ago that showed exactly that. The brains of gay men respond similarly to humor and asthetics (design) as other women. I saw it on the morning news but don't know where it was published.