Business Networking and Sex - Ivan Misner [30]
BRAIN SIZE—MINE’S BIGGER!
Women have always said that size doesn’t matter. That’s true, at least in terms of brain size. Female brain size is smaller than male’s, but intellect is equal to or higher. But I know you already knew that.
Typically, men’s brains are 11 to 12 percent larger than women’s. This size difference has absolutely nothing to do with intelligence, but is explained by the difference in physical size between men and women. Men need more neurons to control their greater muscle mass and larger body size, so they have larger brains. Intellect is not about size. It’s about white and gray matter, but we’ll talk about that later. In this case, size doesn’t matter. So don’t be so proud.
PAIN
Women are also more likely to vocalize their pain and to seek treatment for it than are men. The area of the brain that is activated during pain is the amygdala. In women the left amygdala is activated, which has more connections with internal functions. This would also explain why women perceive pain more intensely than do men.
Men can deal with pain more easily than women and will not vocalize it very often. In men the right amygdala is activated which is connected with external functions.
I think what this really means is that women are tougher than men. When my wife gave birth to our first daughter, Jacqueline, I knew at that moment that women were stronger and tougher in every way. If men had to give birth we would have been extinct as a species many years ago.
SPATIAL ABILITY
Women have a thicker parietal region of the brain, which hinders the ability to mentally rotate objects—an aspect of spatial ability.
Men typically have stronger spatial abilities, (the mental abilities that let us envision a shape and its dynamics) whereas women typically struggle in this area.
When you hear women say, “I am so bad with directions. I always feel like I’m turned around and don’t know where I am,” this explains why. This may also be why men feel confident about directions. They NEVER stop and ask directions because they feel that they ALWAYS have it under control. NOT!
SUSCEPTIBILITY TO DISORDERS
Women are more susceptible to mood disorders such as depression and anxiety. Men are more apt to have dyslexia or other language problems. Men are also more likely to be diagnosed with autism, ADHD, and Tourette’s syndrome. (Does this mean I’m hard-wired to be hyperactive, confused by what I read, prone to yelling out obscenities, and unable to convey my feelings with words? How cool is that?!) Gentlemen, there’s no arguing with brain research. Go be a man and be proud of your disorder! Seriously, let’s see if we can work on this, OK?
She Says. . .
How Did You Learn Your Networking Skills?
I love this question, and it came out exactly as I would have expected it to, with women reading, taking seminars, and being mentored, and men just learning on their own. Ladies, are any of you one bit surprised that men scored highest in the category of “learned it on my own”? Men love to learn everything on their own. They get great joy and satisfaction from the achievement. Think about how many times you have watched your husband, father, or friend attempt to assemble some item on Christmas morning. Do they ever really take out the instructions and read them first? I remember when my husband assembled bicycles and was surprised at how many parts were left over. According to him, they must have been extras. Men want to figure things out on their own.
I was in a car with a gentleman and we were headed to an event. I asked him if he knew where we were going, and he said that he wasn’t sure, but was pretty confident he could find it. “Where is your GPS?” I asked, and this is the response I got: “Oh, I only use that when my wife is with me. I really like trying to find places on my own and the GPS takes all the fun out of it. In fact, it is kind of like having my wife in the car, telling me how to get somewhere.” I nearly fell to the floor laughing. “Don’t you