posted March 05, 2011 03:32 AM            

Contrary to jokes and one-liners, women are better drivers than men. They’re also better at getting the joke. And better with hammers. And video games. And social networking. And did we mention, they get dressed faster than guys? This isn’t opinion, it’s fact, and Dan Abrams can prove it.

In his new book, Man Down: Proof Beyond a Reasonable Doubt That Women Are Better Cops, Drivers, Gamblers, Spies, World Leaders, Beer Tasters, Hedge Fund Managers, and Just About Everything Else, Abrams collects research from leading studies over the past few years to make the case for the ‘fairer’ sex. A legal analyst for ABC News and former lawyer, he approached the topic as a defense attorney, using evidence that already exists to debunk popular myths about women.

“In nearly every field, statistics and studies show that women are better collaborators, are more cautious and more adept at navigating treacherous terrain,” writes Abrams in his book’s opening statement. “I am not convinced that women as a group play basketball or read maps better than men. The evidence here will show, however, that women are living longer and evolving better than men.” It takes a lot for a man to admit his own weaknesses (there’s a chapter on how women tolerate pain better), so we wondered why Abrams would make the case for women. Turns out, it’s a man’s job.

Shine: How did you decide to do this book?
Dan Abrams: I was hired to write a light article for a magazine about certain areas that women are better in than men. Some of the evidence surprised me, so I went and looked into the underlying research. Most of it was true, some was exaggerated, some anecdotal. But I kept finding more and more real studies and the evidence is compelling when you look at it all together. I couldn’t believe there’s been no major book about it.

Shine: Why now?
D.A.: There’s a lot more evidence now. A lot of the studies from the book are from the last three years. It’s only been in the last twenty or so years, that women have been on a relatively even playing field in terms of work to do many of these studies. We weren’t able to make fair comparisons before, because women were a fraction of the working world. Now we’re see women taking over the majority in many professions. But only recently has there been enough time to look back to compare men versus women and only recently has there been real interest.

Shine: Which gender is leading these studies?
D.A.: Of the studies I looked at, a vast majority of lead researchers are men, but the broad trend trackers are women.

Shine: What finding surprised you the most?
D.A.: I was most surprised at how conclusive the evidence was for the fact that women tolerate pain better. They endure more pain throughout their lives, in more bodily areas and with greater frequency, according to researchers at the University of Bath. According to the medical journal Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, women have an average of 34 more nerve fibers per square centimeter of facial skin, while men have an average of 17. New research is suggesting the fact that women tend to endure pain more makes them more immune to it. It’s the old aphorism, “That which doesn’t kill me makes me stronger.”

Shine: Are women really better at tasting beer?
D.A.: The evidence is clear that women have a better sense of smell. In one study, researchers questioned whether men or women be better able to smell sweat behind fragrances, and women were fooled far less. But also they have a better sense of taste, and can apply it to just about anything. Taste is based on smell, as well as the number of taste buds a person has, and women are more likely to have a greater number of more-sensitive taste buds. And it’s not just beer that they’re better at tasting, but wine as well.

Shine: What about sports—men are better at sports, right?
D.A.: There’s no question that men have larger muscles, so they tend to be better at most sports. But there are certain areas—particularly endurance sports—where women are better. Studies show that estrogen is a disadvantage for muscle development but an advantage when it comes to endurance. Another advantage for women is that their bodies more efficiently process oxygen. When it comes to ultra-marathons—say, a 135 mile race without sleep—women can beat men. It’s reflective of something we see throughout the book— when it comes to race of life, women won’t sprint but they'll run longer. In baseball terms, men may hit the home run but women hit the singles and doubles more often and end up with a better average. This is true in financial fields as well: women are better long-term investors.

Shine: It makes sense that women are hard-wired for endurance, considering another chapter in the book entitled, “Women Live Longer.”
D.A.: Women live an average of five years longer than men. The reasons for this are both genetic and behavior-based. First of all, women have stronger immune systems, again due to estrogen which aids the fight against disease-inducing enzymes. But women are also less likely to engage in risky behavior. For example, I found that women are hit by lightning less often than men. That’s because the guy may not get off the roof when there’s a thunderstorm coming.

Shine: Does the same theory apply to women being safer drivers?
D.A.: Men are more likely to engage in reckless behavior, like driving drunk. One study found male drivers have 77 percent higher risk of dying in a car accident than women. It’s translated to insurance rates, women have 7 percent lower rates on the whole because they’re less careless drivers. In Australia, they actually petitioned to have more women bus drivers, because they found they’re more likely to treat buses better and have fewer accidents.

Shine: Bus drivers aren’t the only jobs women excel at, according to your research. What other jobs are women better at than men?
D.A.: Women were found to be less corruptible as cops. In both Lima, Peru and Volgograd, Russia where police corruption was a major issue, the governments campaigned to hire more women cops. There’s another study that women are more effective as political leaders than men. It suggests, we’d be a better country if there were more women in the highest echelons of politics.

Shine: In the field of medicine, the findings are also in favor of women.
D.A.: One of the most definitive studies in the book was done in 2009 by the British government. They collected a database of information on all the investigations of medical misconduct or incompetence over a period of eight years. It was the largest study of medical performance ever. They found that while forty percent of doctors were women, 80 percent of those under investigation were men. In the U.S., there were similar findings. Male physicians were twice as likely to be sued as women.

Shine: With all this counter-evidence, why are women still subjected to the same old stereotypes?
D.A.: Women weren’t allowed to vote in this country 100 years ago. We’re still in the period of catch up. We still haven’t had a female president, or that many women running Fortune 500 companies. When we get to point of seeing just as many women in the top levels of every profession, that's when we'll see a sea change at lower levels.

Shine: How is the internet giving women more of an advantage?
D.A.: One of the clichés about women is that they’re more communicative—those who want to demean women say they like to gossip more. That’s a pejorative way of commenting on the fact that women are more involved in social media. A 2010 study found women were six percent more exposed to social networking sites and spent more time on them. Other research found women were less likely to be victims of internet fraud.

Shine: Are you worried about backlash from men?
D.A.: I already had one men’s rights group send a petition to get me fired from my job. They wrote, “Dan Abrams is penning a sexist book claiming male inferiority.” But this book is not about my musings or opinions. This is me approaching the topic like a lawyer. Is there some hyperbole in the headline? Sure, but the reality is the trends here are significant and important. The goal of this book is not be viewed as a feminist book but an objective book. Someone with no bias is examining the evidence and coming forth to say it’s compelling. I’ll get mocked by many men, but a woman who made the same findings would be discounted for writing this book because of her bias.

posted March 05, 2011 08:22 AM            

I think men would better in many things which relate to his biological role lol

posted March 05, 2011 11:56 AM            

I think it depends on the person involved, because making blanket statements leads to one sided thinking.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8By2AEsGAhU

With Honesty, If you can not comprehend how he is controlling that car, well.

If you are "better", then go beat that guy.

posted March 05, 2011 12:50 PM            

quote:

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Originally posted by MyFavoriteWeapon:
I love my vagina!

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posted March 05, 2011 12:53 PM            

quote:

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Originally posted by Ami Anne:
I think that if woman are better at certain things,it is because they have the babies.
Perhaps, the root of the things in which they are better comes down to care taking.
For example, if a woman is a better driver,perhaps she is simply more careful.
You have to be careful with newborns/children.

I think men would better in many things which relate to his biological role lol

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Even though I just got the biggest Kool_Aid smile when I read the title, I've gotta agree with Ami. I feel that there are prolly many things men can do better . . .

posted March 05, 2011 04:04 PM            

quote:

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Originally posted by Mblake81:
"women are better drivers than men", Yikes.

I think it depends on the person involved, because making blanket statements leads to one sided thinking.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8By2AEsGAhU

With Honesty, If you can not comprehend how he is controlling that car, well.

If you are "better", then go beat that guy.

I do not know if you can, so be careful using the word "better", please.

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That article was written by a man. I know the neuroanatomical differences between the genders. They're general but there are geniuses who cross gender lines, outdoing the gender who normatively tends to do better in that arena by extremes that are mindboggling.

I think he was trying to say women are better statistically speaking likely because they were less driven by testosterone to drive more dangerously (like the performance driving you showed). He was after all talking about street driving. Men have been shown to be better at spatial reasoning. That does influence driving obviously, but there are -many- things that influence accidents.

posted March 05, 2011 04:15 PM            

quote:

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Originally posted by mochai:
That article was written by a man. I know the neuroanatomical differences between the genders. They're general but there are geniuses who cross gender lines, outdoing the gender who normatively tends to do better in that arena by extremes that are mindboggling.

I think he was trying to say women are better statistically speaking likely because they were less driven by testosterone to drive more dangerously (like the performance driving you showed).

It's about the individual. I just found all the new research a little exciting.

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posted March 05, 2011 11:18 PM            

I did understand the original posts intent.

I am trying to point out that it is not based on female or male.

Different conditions are a reality of our world, as I am sure you know by now.

Your point is the same point I am making or was trying to.

It is not easy to just make blanket statements about this or that.

That is why I cautioned using the word "better" without giving the specific reason you are stating that.

It is too easily misunderstood, because many people judge "better" differently.

posted March 06, 2011 10:47 AM            

I didn't make any blanket statements until after your post, and those were only surmising theories supporting the details of his thesis. I even made a precursor statement reinforcing how limiting and wong they can be on individual terms.

posted March 06, 2011 11:06 AM            

I was just stating my personal experience with these matters.

It does not matter to me who wrote it, I was just pointing something out.

Now, Have I showed you that I do not care to insult or belittle your points, I was just making mine, some people might be interested in them.

posted March 06, 2011 11:09 AM            

And lots of desperation, god the desperation of people.

The "crabs in the bucket" mentality is so damn strong in this world I wanna scream sometimes.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crab_mentality

Crab mentality, sometimes referred to as crabs in the bucket, describes a way of thinking best described by the phrase "if I can't have it, neither should you." The metaphor refers to a pot of crabs. Individually, the crabs could easily escape from the pot, but instead, they grab at each other in a useless "king of the hill" competition (or sabotage) which prevents any from escaping and ensures their collective demise. The analogy in human behavior is that of a group that will attempt to "pull down" (negate or diminish the importance of) any member who achieves success beyond the others, out of jealousy, conspiracy or competitive feelings.

posted March 06, 2011 11:16 AM            

No matter the age or location.

That is a Fact.

Now what you want to do with that knowledge is up to you all.

Stay the awful same.

posted March 06, 2011 11:24 AM            

Just replace that with progress for everyone, people respond to universal positives more than anything else that I have personally seen or heard with my two eyes and ears.

I do not need a lawyer or anyone else to tell me that simple knowledge.

posted March 06, 2011 01:22 PM            

quote:

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Originally posted by Randall:
Geez, are men better at anything?

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posted March 06, 2011 01:27 PM            

You should take your own advice. She was only sharing an interesting article and you're going off :/

posted March 06, 2011 01:35 PM            

quote:

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Geez, are men better at anything?

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Indeed, slinging the bull

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What we do for ourselves dies with us. What we do for others and the world is immortal"~

posted March 06, 2011 02:10 PM            

No offense mblake, and I know your intentions are good, but you remind me of a lot of people I know who play word games with people to obfuscate. Betterment is a synonym of progress. Better can also be used to describe an increase in result that is not necessarily superior or progressive. Not to mention a lot of your tone can come off as condescending and combative and in many people could invoke hostility. I really don't know why you're posting it honestly.

I'd appreciate it if you read through the texts better first too, especially before you start coming up with assumptions about people or their mindset. Everyone knows there was no black and white with those statements in the article. I'm sorry if you really thought the article was directed in that manner. Please do not put others down in you language by the assumptions you make. Doing so is a form of abuse I'm sure you've been exposed to. I hope that was not the case for you. I try not to treat people on this forum like they are stupid, ignorant or misunderstanding in any form, subtle or blatant. It is degrading and reinforces that potentiality dormant or real. To do so repeatedly over a long period of time is gaslighting, and the effects are toxic to anyone who has the misfortune of experiencing them over a long period of time. There are many people here who have been with mentally abusive family members and spouses who have experienced the same put downs and have had to leave people they loved and cared about for that reason because they would not stop. I had to do this with a man that I still love. I have to distance myself still from a sister I love. You are not coming from a position of superiority. It is clear you hardly read the article enough to know who said what before you started speaking in a belittling tone to me.

quote:

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Originally posted by Randall:
Geez, are men better at anything?

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A lot of things. Men are considered better at tasks that are very specialized and women are better at more integrative tasks. Men actually have larger craniums/brains on average, but have smaller corpus callosums than a woman (the area of the brain connecting the two hemispheres). There are differences in the endocrine system and how we respond to it that I think are ultimately no better or no worse, just different.

posted March 06, 2011 02:40 PM            

No offense mblake, and I know your intentions are good, but you remind me of a lot of people I know who play word games with people to obfuscate. Betterment is a synonym of progress. Better can also be used to describe an increase in result that is not necessarily superior or progressive. Not to mention a lot of you tone can come off as condescending and combative and in many people could invoke hostility. I really don't know why you're posting it honestly.

I'd appreciate it if you read through the texts better first too, especially before you start coming up with assumptions about people or their mindset. Everyone knows there was no black and white with those statements in the article. I'm sorry if you really thought the article was directed in that manner. Please do not put others down in you language by the assumptions you make. Doing so is a form of abuse I'm sure you've been exposed to. I hope that was not the case for you. I try not to treat people on this forum like they are stupid, ignorant or misunderstanding in any form, subtle or blatant. It is degrading and reinforces that potentiality dormant or real. To do so repeatedly over a long period of time is gaslighting, and the effects are toxic to anyone who has the misfortune of experiencing them over a long period of time. There are many people here who have been with mentally abusive family members and spouses who have experienced the same put downs and have had to leave people they loved and cared about for that reason because they would not stop. I had to do this with a man that I still love. I have to distance myself still from a sister I love. You are not coming from a position of superiority. It is clear you hardly read the article enough to know who said what before you started speaking in a belittling tone to me.