Mars and Venus

women are equipped with far more finely tuned sensory skills than men

Neuropsychologist Professor Ruben Gur of the University of Pennsylvania used brain scan tests to show that when a man’s brain is in a resting state, at least 70% of its electrical activity is shut down. Scans of women’s brains showed 90% activity during the same state, confirming that women are constantly receiving and analysing information from their environment

The Eyes Have It
The eye is an extension of the brain that sits outside the skull. The retina at the back of the eyeball contains about 130 million rod-shaped cells called photoreceptors to deal with black and white, and seven million cone-shaped cells to handle colour. The X chromosome provides these colour cells. Women have two X chromosomes which gives them a greater variety of cones than men and this difference is noticeable in how women describe colours in greater detail. A man will use basic colour descriptions like red, blue and green, but a woman will talk of bone, aqua, teal, mauve and apple green.

Eyes in the Back of her Head?
Well, not quite, but close. Women not only have a greater variety of cones in the retina, they also have wider peripheral vision than men. As a nest-defender, a woman has brain software that allows her to receive an arc of at least 45° clear vision to each side of her head and above and below her nose. Many women’s peripheral vision is effective up to almost 180°. A man’s eyes are larger than a woman’s and his brain configures them for a type of long-distance tunnel vision which means that he can see clearly and accurately directly in front of him and over greater distances, almost like a pair of binoculars.

As a hunter, a man needed vision that would allow him to zero in on, and pursue, targets in the distance. He evolved with almost blinkered vision so that he would not be distracted from targets, whereas a woman needed eyes to allow a wide arc of vision so that she could monitor any predators sneaking up on the nest. This is why modern men can find their way effortlessly to a distant pub, but can never find things in fridges, cupboards and drawers.

The Slippery Case of the Missing Butter
Every woman in the world has had the following conversation with a male who is standing in front of an open fridge.

David: ‘Where’s the butter?’
Jan: ‘It’s in the fridge. ‘
David: ‘I’m looking there, but I can’t see any butter. ‘
Jan: ‘Well it’s there. I put it in ten minutes ago!’
David: ‘No. You must have put it somewhere else. There’s definitely no butter in this fridge!’