November 28, 2006

My brain as a hypodermic needle. Your brain as an international airport.

A new book:
[W]omen talk almost three times as much as men, with the average woman chalking up 20,000 words in a day - 13,000 more than the average man.

Women also speak more quickly, devote more brainpower to chit-chat - and actually get a buzz out of hearing their own voices, a new book suggests....

In The Female Mind, Dr Luan Brizendine says women devote more brain cells to talking than men.

And, if that wasn't enough, the simple act of talking triggers a flood of brain chemicals which give women a rush similar to that felt by heroin addicts when they get a high....

But what the male brain may lack in converstation and emotion, they more than make up with in their ability to think about sex.

Dr Brizendine says the brain's "sex processor" - the areas responsible for sexual thoughts - is twice as big as in men than in women, perhaps explaining why men are stereotyped as having sex on the mind.

Or, to put it another way, men have an international airport for dealing with thoughts about sex, "where women have an airfield nearby that lands small and private planes".
I love when a book explains supposedly scientific information in language that approximates that Prince song "International Lover."

ADDED: Mark Liberman notes that the book is actually called "The Female Brain" and indicates that the book is more substantial than the linked Daily Mail piece makes it look.

11 comments:

Ron said...

The International Airport of my Love will confiscate any gels you bring from smaller airports...because you've been bad. Very bad.

This post is stored in my over-the-head compartment, while I am in the locked and upright position.

tiggeril said...

I only use my cell phone to annoy my friend with text messages while he's at work.

Also emergencies but luckily I haven't had any yet.

I'm probably lucky if I speak 1000 words a day, but I type a lot more than that!

Anonymous said...

Doctor Benzedrine niver met'un Irishmun.

Freeman Hunt said...

And, if that wasn't enough, the simple act of talking triggers a flood of brain chemicals which give women a rush similar to that felt by heroin addicts when they get a high....

Really? You'd think we women would have noticed that.

Mortimer Brezny said...

They don't notice the high; they just notice the withdrawal. That's why when they aren't talking, they're eating chocolate or shoe shopping. But we know what they really need....

[INSERT your own joke involving airports and jumbo jets.]

*please note I am mocking stereotypes and that this disclaimer is only included so that I may reach my daily limit of 7,000 words, because if I use more than that I will grow boobs.

Bruce Hayden said...

I agree with the multitasking. A friend of mine pulls this on me occasionally - addidng one ball in the air at a time until I start losing it. As a woman, she isn't as good at it as many are, but is still a lot better at it than I am.

After about 7 years somewhat together, we finally figured out why I don't like to drive, talk to her, and listen to her music at the same time. Adding the music makes me quite nervous when driving, and that is due to my inability to multi-task. Any two out of three works just fine.

But I am not sure how much this female trait is inborn, and how much is learned. I have watched my daughter become better at it as she gets older.

BJK said...

I'm shocked no one has made a "mile high club" reference yet.


...but then again, I am a guy...

Eli Blake said...

[W]omen talk almost three times as much as men, with the average woman chalking up 20,000 words in a day - 13,000 more than the average man.

I could also say something snarky about language skills vs. math, but I won't.

Seatswapr said...

Exhibit A: Gilmore Girls.

Enough said.

Anonymous said...

They needed a study to tell us this?

Anonymous said...

Dr. Liberman was by no means indicating that the book is more substantial than Daily Mail makes it look. On the contrary, he is disagreeing with the way in which the Daily Mail presents the points in the books as fact. He has devoted many pages on Language Log to challenging Dr. Brizendine's assertions and dissecting her methods and sources. For more information, check out www.languagelog.com.