The hardest and at the same time the most fun battle that was ever fought in the history of the world is that between man and woman. The brain structure of men and women seems to be completely different. Is it true?
What is certain is that each person is unique, regardless of his or her gender. Nevertheless, some scholars and writers argue that there are significant differences between a male brain and a female one. Scientists at the University of Pennsylvania have shown that the male brain is structured for coordination and perception, while the gray matter of the female one seem capable of coordinating the analytical and intuitive side of the brain. Below are some examples of daily life.
Intelligence: currently women experience a higher IQ than that of men. Some researches show that the simultaneous supervision of family and working life have made the woman more intelligent. James Flynn, a world expert on IQ, says that the complexity in the new world has helped develop more and more our intelligence, “but that of women is growing faster.”
At the steering wheel: how many times have we heard men screaming at the wheel “You drive like a girl”” or “You parked like a woman”? Too many. A research of the Driving Standards Agency has shown that men pass their driving test after six months, compared to the eight months of women. In addition, 48% of men pass the test the first time, therefore beating the 44% of the women. There is little to argue: men are generally better than women in tasks requiring spatial skills. Geary notes that “Women use the cerebral cortex to solve problems that require navigational skills. Men use a completely different area, in other words the left hippocampus, an nucleus that is internal to the brain that does not activate in women during navigation.” He explains that the hippocampus automatically codes where you are in space.
Bossying around: a study has shown that women are better managers than men. This is because the fairer sex is able to make decisions for the collective good. In fact, a research carried out for the International Journal of Business Governance and Ethics has shown that companies where there is a strong female influence are more successful than those run by only men.
Even when there are discussions within a couple, it’s the woman who most of the times holds the record. Men hate arguing, and women know this well so they take advantage of it. Geary suggests that women use their communication skills to their advantage. “Women mostly use language when competing. They gossip, they manipulate information.” Martha Bridge, a researcher at the Kennedy Krieger Institute, says that women seem to have language functions in both parts of the brain.
Relationships: when you end a relationship, women may continue to cry for weeks, maybe months. Then they rationalize and take matters into her own hands. On the contrary, men initially feel invincible and powerful, but they drag on the malaise for a long time because they can not put aside the anger and the disappointment and are afraid to step into new serious relationships because they fear that what was lost is irreplaceable. To explain this is the study conducted by Binghamton University and University College London. The research involved 5705 people from different countries. Each was asked to indicate on a scale from 1 (absent) to 10 (unbearable), the physical and psychological suffering felt after a break up.
As for relationships between people of the same sex, it is proved that men socialize by insulting one another, without really thinking about what they are saying; on the other hand, women socialize by complimenting one another, even though these are not always true.
Geary has theorized that women build relationships using language, “they interrupt one another more, they allow the other to speak, they use gestures that facilitate communication.”
Maturity: in many cases, women mature earlier than men. Many seventeen-year-olds think and act like adults, while the boys are still focused on the result of the last Xbox game. This is why relationships between peers don’t always, or almost never, work.
This happens because over the years the brain undergoes a re-organization that makes its network of information more effective and causes the least important neuronal connections to switch off. Scientists at the Newcastle University conducted a study of 121 subjects between the ages of 4 and 40. Through the imaging technique, they studied the methods and timing with which the redundant brain connections are thinned out. All this happens at very different times for males and for females. “Previous studies have shown that the brain plays a significant business re-organization during puberty – explains Marcus Kaiser, Professor of Neurosciences – but it was quite unexpected to find out that these changes were beginning much earlier in girls than boys”.
The truth is that in the battle of the sexes the one who wins is neither the man nor the woman, but it’s their union.
In fact, many of the differences that exist between men and women are complementary. According to Gur, it’s exactly these differences that ensure that men and women can live well together and, in a sense, that help the continuation of the species.
In fact, the comedian George Carlin was right when he said “Men are from Earth, women are from Earth. Deal with it”.
