Perception

An English professor wrote the words, "Woman without her man is nothing," on the blackboard and directed the students to punctuate it correctly.

The men wrote: "Woman, without her man, is nothing."

The women wrote: "Woman! Without her, man is nothing."


"There really are fundamental differences in the way men and women process information...Women tend to process more extensively more different pieces of information...Men tend to rely more on mental shortcuts..."


In one study mentioned, a group of people were brought to a room and later asked to remember various items there. It happened that women had much better memory for details than did men. Men might remember the big picture of an office like the location of a desk or bookshelf. But women would remember more intimate details like a vase of flowers in the corner, or a picture of a husband and wife on a book case.

This begs the question "Are women smarter than men?" There is no simple Yes or No: the answer seems rooted in human evolution.

Men and women had to face different pressures as each adopted to their own specialized social roles. Men had to become the more aggressive hunters and compete with other men. They had to process information quickly, perhaps more quickly than females. Biochemical studies have even shown a more "jittery" neural response from men.

Research suggests that in women, the two spheres of their brains communicate better than do men's. Studies show that women pull in information from both halves. This allows women to give a more sophisticated emotional response. Thus, women are better at talking about their emotions and reading subtleties.