Intelligence = Power?

Men are smarter than women, it seems.

If I were a chauvinist, I would be leaping up and down with joy and proclaiming that stuff that we’ve known all along is now confirmed true… but I’m not one.

Besides… news.com.au published this story, and that has effectively scuttled any credibility that it might've had.

For nigh on a decade, I’ve been of the opinion that any discussion on which gender is somehow superior is… in a word, stupid.

In two words, fucking stupid.

In a society that pats itself in the back for preaching tolerance, and engendering a harmonious environment so that all people can live in comfort, that we still feel compelled to polarise the populace into two segments seems... stupid. Like, fucking stupid.

Yes, the two genders are different. There are strengths and weaknesses of each. Hell, if my future role is to simply remove the lids from jars and take out the rubbish, I’d be a happy man… as long as I get man’s wages. Heh. Kidding!

But, this whole “men are smarter” thing does rely on some pretty questionable evidence ie an IQ test of 24,000 students. Now, IQ tests in my experience have hardly been an accurate representation of how “smart” someone is.

For instance, I know a man who scored 142 on an IQ test, but he would dig stuck bread out of a toaster with a fork.

Yet, I can’t help but think that the “who is smarter” bit is ultimately pointless. For one, intelligence doesn’t equate to wisdom – which is better? For two, it’s never what you know, it’s who you know. And three, it’s not the intelligent ones who are most applauded in society.

It’s the good looking people who are most revered, respected and honoured. Just compare the coverage of Bali druggie Michelle Leslie (see post below) with the coverage of that bloke who got caught with hashish. Yeah… I don’t know his name; that shows how important he is. There was no news coverage, so he must’ve been ugly.

Ultimately though, the measure of which gender has the power in society can be summed up as thus:

Walking down North Terrace last year, a stunning young woman in a charcoal-grey pinstripe suit was walking the opposite direction on the other side of the road. As it was a safe perving distance, I watched her long, confident strides and her raven black mane with admiration.

… and I nearly walked smack into a bus shelter.

Years ago, I was driving on North East road. It was a hot day. A blonde woman was standing on the sidewalk, talking with friends. She was wearing cut-off denim shorts. I didn’t see much else, because I had to jump on the brakes suddenly to prevent slamming into the car in front of me.

So, are men smarter? Just ask the dopey looking bloke who is staring dumbfounded at passing women, drool slightly trickling out the side of his agape mouth.

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EDIT: I've just been perusing the reader response to the news dot com article, and it's confirmed. We are living in the Dark Ages.