A recent study compared the intelligence of men and women. But are we facing the wrong direction on this issue?
Look on the Internet, on social media and in nearly any comedy club and you’ll find people saying how stupid the opposite sex is. Some web sites actually focus on why men are better than women (take a wild guess at what one of these sites uses as a URL), and questions such as “Why are women so dumb?” are common on sites such as Yahoo, Reddit and Quora. On the flip side, plenty of chatter says that men are dumber. An example is the ”male idiot theory” (MIT), which is “men are idiots and idiots do stupid things,” supposedly proven by the fact that the vast majority of winners of the Darwin Award (given to people who perish as a result of their own stupidity) are men. This is a case where you don’t want to be from MIT.
Well here’s the latest news: Both men and woman are dumb…equally. (Or smart, if you are an optimist or just nice). Apparently, using a wall urinal does not make you smarter or dumber–at least based on a study recently published in the journal Intelligence, which, by the way, is a great name for a journal. The investigators for the study were Dragos Iliescua and Alexandra Ilieb from the University of Bucharest, Romania, Dan Ispasb from Illinois State University, Anca Dobreanc from Babes-Bolyai University, Romania, and Aurel Ion Clinciud from Transylvania University, Romania. (And no, Aurel Ion Clinciud is not a vampire, for those men or women who think Transylvania just has vampires.) Their study looked at intelligence measurement data on over 15,000 men and women in Romania, ranging in age from 2 to 99 years. In over 90% of the measures, no difference existed between the sexes. Differences that were present appeared random and not consistent. Therefore, the conclusion? No inherent sex differences in intelligence.
The findings of this study are consistent with previous studies. For example, published in Education Psychology Review, a critical review of available studies found ”no sex differences in general intelligence.” A previous theory held that men tend to have larger brains than females, even when corrected for body size, and that brain size is positively correlated with intelligence. But this paper published in Personality and Individual Differences and other studies summarized in this Scientific American article suggest that size does not matter as much as thought.
Of course, the study from Romania did not examine how social, cultural, economic and environmental systems or pressures may make men or women appear dumber or smarter. For instance, lack of support, mentorship or a position of influence can make a woman (or man) appear dumber, and happy hours can make men into idiots. Free drinks can do the same for women.
The persistent “who’s dumber, men or women” debate highlights a major problem in our society: too little focus on individuals when making conclusions. Yes, individual men and women certainly do stupid things. But some women or some men do not represent the whole lot. There is great diversity in all groups. Yes, a woman wearing too-high high heels so that she falls over like a giraffe may not seem very practical. The same is true with lighting your own farts on fire in a fraternity party. However, not every woman and man does such things. The debate overlooks the impact of the systems around everyone and how these systems can affect what you do and how you think. It may seem easier to simplify the world by saying that “men are this” and “women are that” but in the end you miss what different individuals have to offer. The world is a complex place. Now, if only people can stop being so dumb by stereotyping.