Man Thinking

There’s much we still don’t know about how our brains work. But scientists continue to do studies to determine how our brains work and why and we learn more each day. Here are some of the findings from different studies about how a man’s brain works:

This Is His Brain…

The parietal lobe at the top back part of the brain is said to be larger in men, especially the left side. This part of the brain:

  • estimates time
  • judges speed
  • visualizes objects in 3-D (such as catching a football thrown toward you)
  • solves math problems

Our direction sense is influenced by this part of the brain, which may indicate why men are usually better at directions.

Men have 4% more brain cells than women, and about 100 grams more of brain tissue. (So men need more brain tissue in order to get the same things done as women?)

Male language is most often just in the dominant hemisphere (usually the left side) which results in their conversation being more detail-oriented and more directly to the point.

In the event of stroke or a brain injury, men who have left-sided damage are less likely to recover as fully as women, with similar injuries, who use both sides of the brain for language.

A man’s brain, in comparison to a woman’s, is relatively quiet. It needs stimulation.

This Is His Brain On Testosterone…

Because of the brain differences, and the extra testosterone, men tend to be higher in:

  • independence
  • dominance
  • spatial and mathematical skills
  • rank-related aggression

Men have only four to six areas of the brain to evaluate others’ behavior (where women have between fourteen and sixteen areas) which explains why men find it harder to read facial expressions and body language.

Men find it difficult to interpret the more subtle cues in women’s body language. Research shows that men tend to mistake friendliness and smiling for sexual interest.

Men see the world in more sexual terms than women because they have ten to twenty times more testosterone.

In one study, when asked to think of nothing men’s brains were more active in the more primitive physical activity centers of the brain (cerebellum). Left to themselves, men will think about sex, their golf swing, or their jump shot.

The average man will think about sex as often as once a minute.

Does this offer any clues as to why the men in your life act so strangely sometimes? It explained a few things to me. Do you know of any other brain-related differences between males and females? Share them in the comments.

Today’s Giveaway: a copy of Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott

To enter the drawing, just leave a comment on today’s post. (If you don’t want to be entered for the drawing, just note that in your comment.) If you don’t have anything to say on female speech, leave a comment to throw your name in the hat.

All giveaways will have a 24-hour entry period, and comments will be closed when the next day’s workshop is posted. All workshops will be posted at 7:00 AM CST on the date scheduled (unless I have any unforeseen problems getting it posted. In which case, I’ll make up new rules for that day.)

The book giveaways are open to everyone (USA and elsewhere), even if you win a book on a different day of the workshop.

Tomorrow’s topic – Female Thinking – exactly how does a woman’s brain work?

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