My online education is not complete. There are, apparently, 10,500,000 (that’s ten and half million) web pages devoted to hilarious gags about men and women (search on ‘men women joke’). ‘Men joke’ yielded 16 million pages, while ‘women joke’ served up 15 million. Analyzing the humor could be an interesting psychology study; are women really the butt of fewer wise-cracks than men? Or is there truly more to laugh about with men?
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Of course, there are many serious web sites exploring gender differences. No-one really doubts that men and women are different, but every new scientific (and not so scientific) biology or psychology study yields a new difference (or similarity) between men and women. Most of them are published online, it seems, and I feel compelled to share my new-found education.
An Online Education in Physical Differences between Men and Women
The Women’s Sports Foundation believes a fair boxing competition is possible between a man and a woman as long as they are matched for physical variables. This is hard to imagine when protective gear for two such different physical variables is required. A UK study shows that men often achieve better sports performance times because of testosterone (let’s face it—it is the answer to everything). This male hormone encourages the production of hemoglobin (the stuff than carries oxygen around in the blood) and as a result men can produce more energy and achieve better performance times. A University of Michigan study indicates that in a group of men and women of comparable height, weight, and fitness, the women were more likely to sustain a particular type of knee injury. Where’s the justice in that?
An Online Education in Differences in Psychology between Men and Women
A psychology study from the University of California, Irvine shows that men and women can have similar IQs, but quite different brains. Men have more gray matter (responsible for information processing) and women have more white matter (responsible for networking information). A special issue of Fortune magazine celebrating women in business reveals that men are blind-sided by crises that women are more likely to anticipate. On the other hand, in an admittedly unscientific survey conducted by Bruce Balsam of Elliot Horowitz & Co., men claim that they would take professional advice for their finances, while women say they would not. This appears to be backed up by another Fortune article that reveals the average 10-month return on stock of 8 female CEO’s. Minus 14.8%. Sigh.
The Ultimate Online Education Trivia
Perhaps the most riveting piece of Internet nonsense (I’m beginning to think that online education is an oxymoron) comes from The Linux Documentation Project. The “How To” section includes instruction on “the 3 button serial mouse,” “3D graphics modeling and rendering," “802.1X port-based authentication,” and, of course, “How to Encourage Women in Linux.” I’m sure it’s very sexist to assume that women need to be encouraged, but men, presumably, do not. Worthy of a psychology study, for sure.
Does anyone actually know what Linux is?
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