Theory

Following on from my earlier ramblings - I have a theory I'd like to test on the b3tan community. Again, this doesn't apply to everyone, but I think there are distinct differences between men and women which go right back to our earliest ancestors - the hunter/gatherers. In those societies, the men went out on hunts for meat, while the women stayed nearer to the home, looking after children and gathering vegetables. This basic difference leads to several in-bred traits in the survivors which are noticeable in the modern day, e.g. shopping, sports and driving.

When men go shopping we know what we want, we have a pretty good idea where we can get it, we go, we get it and we come home with it. Women on the other hand have a vague idea about what they want, they know where the shops are and they spend hours wandering around from one known spot to another comparing the goods. They might say that they know what they want, but they are easily distracted by other things and will usually come home with lots of stuff that wasn't 'on the list'.

Sport: men like to act in teams, they communicate with grunts, shouts and gestures. After the 'kill', they like to gather together and bond, replaying their victories and picking over mistakes. The result of the 'hunt' is very important - both for status within the tribe and to obtain meat. Women know that as long as they know where the best fruit and nut trees are, they'll survive and the men are just being silly.

Driving: men are quite good at judging space and speed, they like danger and are competitive. They like maps which show them how to get to places and have good spacial awareness. Women have excellent peripheral vision (useful for spotting approaching carnivores and keeping an eye on the kids when gathering). This means that they often think the car will hit a lamp-post when it is a yard away from it and don't like over-taking. It also means they can see where their mate's eyes are pointing, even if they are sitting side by side.

The home: men will happily go to a DIY store, make plans, build something, use tools, look after those tools then sit back and admire their work. Women know exactly how they want the home to look - they want to improve their status with other women. It is more important to have a cosy nest with everything exactly in the right place than to sit down and enjoy it. A man would be happy living in a shed, a woman needs curtains and cushions.

None of these behaviours are universal, most of them are common. I'm not sexist - I'm an observer.

I've said before, I'm not much of a 'hunter'. I would have been one of the restless young men that left to find adventure, going out on his own to spread the gene pool around. I would have made myself cosy in a lovely little shack with a wild woman from another tribe, re-telling my adventures by the fire and passing on wisdom to anyone that came by and wanted shelter for the night.

Oh. I did.
(Che Grimsdale Best before:, Tue 5 Jan 2010, 9:56, 2 replies)

two words
confirmatory bias.

The /only/ way you can hope to approach something like this that seeks to find trends in large groups of people is to use statistical methods. If you rely on what you think you see, then you will be in error.

History is littered with examples of things that seemed obvious but are patently wrong.
( Sextant goes to him is emotionally erect, on this day, Tue 5 Jan 2010, 11:12, closed)

Statistics and lies....
damned damned things etc, rearrange as necessary. Being obvious does not negate a theory's validity.
( number5 has been fighting tramps and losing., Tue 5 Jan 2010, 16:35, closed)