13 Things That Men and Women Do Differently

Life

7. Distinguish between right and left differently

Men never mix up right and left, as the more active part of their brain is either the right, or the left hemisphere — never both. Yet if you ask most women which is their left hand, you won’t get an instantaneous answer. Often they will look at a ring, or think about which hand they write with, in order to remind themselves. This is why men all around the world complain that women can’t tell left from right!

8. See differently

Men can see clearly ahead, and far into the distance. You might say they have eyes like binoculars. This is called tunnel vision — the vision of a hunter capable of tracking his prey. This is why men sometimes accuse women of hiding things from them; even if their socks, or underwear, or car keys and wallet, or something in the fridge, are all where they should be, a man cannot pick them out straightaway if they aren’t in his direct field of vision. In contrast, women have much better peripheral vision. It’s argued that this is the result of the fact that a woman needs to see what’s around her as much as she can, in order to keep track of her children and quickly detect any danger to them. These differences can have serious consequences. Insurance companies claim that women are less likely to be involved in road accidents where their car is hit from the side. They are however far more likely to scratch their car when trying to parallel park, since they have a poorely developed sense of space.

9. Tie bathrobes differently

Charlie Sheen and Scarlett Johansson

Women usually fasten a bathrobe tightly around the waist, whereas men tie it at the hips. Some say this is because women want to emphasise their figure even when they’re wearing baggy clothes, whilst men don’t care at all about this. Others think it’s just more comfortable for both. What do you think?

10. Interpret feelings in different ways

It’s said that a woman can interpret visual, verbal, and all other kinds of signals people give them almost instantaneously. When a woman walks into a room full of unknown people, she will often observe the latter closely and will be able to work out who gets on well with whom, who’s fallen out with whom, and what someone’s mood is. When a man walks into a room, he will quickly scan his environment, determine where the exits are, search for familiar faces, and try to work out who is a potential threat or enemy. Moreover, men generally cannot understand when a woman feels offended unless she tells him directly, yet she usually expects him to read the subtle signals she is giving out instead.

11. Deal with tasks differently

Men are generally capable of concentrating on only a single task at a given moment. If you try to talk to him while he’s shaving, there’s every chance he’ll cut himself. In contrast, many people believe women can cope with several things at the same time. Once again, the reason for this lies in the varying ways in which men and women’s brains function, and the influence of ancient, socially-determined roles. Thousands of years ago, if a man didn’t concentrate on the hunt, his family could go hungry. And if a woman concentrated entirely on picking berries and roots, her children might end up in danger.

12. Cope with problems differently

Drew Barrymore in ’Scream’; Edward Norton in ’Fight Club’

Often, when a woman has a problem, she will talk about it with her mom, her best friend, her husband, even with the person sitting next to her on the bus. She’ll write about it in her diary, she’ll send a text message to someone revealing all, or she’ll leave posts on social networks. The more she discusses her problem, the easier it is for her. A problem shared with others doesn’t feel so difficult to cope with. When a man has a problem, on the other hand, he’s far more likely to lie in front of the TV and sulk in silence. He copes with stress by distracting himself from his problems. And when he feels calmer, he start’s searching for a solution to whatever’s wrong — and he does it on his own. Coming to him with advice and suggestions will just annoy him.

13. Remember information differently

A woman’s memory is like a huge cupboard, with dozens of shelves and where everything is in its right place. Women accurately retain information about everyone they encounter and everything that happens — who loves what food, whose birthday is on what date, what her mother asked her to do for her and what her child needs for school. Men, on the other hand, generally remember only the things which they consider to be really important, which often leads them to accuse women of filling their heads with completely irrelevant information.

Remember, there’s no need to worry too much about these differences — on the contrary, we should be glad they exist. As is often said, opposites attract, and it’s this which creates the magic we all know as love.