Now that I have made a habit of making sweeping statements why break the pattern.
So here comes another hare-brained theory.
I believe the reason why men have been at the forefront of most of the inventions and discoveries cannot be attributed just to the simplistic explanation of opportunity.
Most would argue that lack of contribution by women can be attributed to the fact men repressed women and they were always at a disadvantage due to the constraints that the society imposed on them.
There is no denying these facts but the fact also remains these shackles have been more or less negated in the last 50 years and despite this the contribution of women especially in the field of science (or any other field for that matter) is at best miniscule if not negligible.
“Exceptio probat regulam.”
When I say inventions I have in mind products or thoughts which changed the course of a field or changed the paradigms of thinking and living.
Time for the explanation – personal and without any scientific basis.
The way men think is random and without any order. If you have ever watched two men or a group of men having a conversation, it can be quite an irksome experience for any outside observer. The conversation will travel from the inane to the profound. In the same sentence you can find a man quoting Socrates while discussing about the finer points of Angelina Jolie’s legs. The conversation never sticks to a single topic and can range from movies to religion to terrorism to philosophy of Nietzsche to latest office gossip to any other idiotic or ridiculous or reflective theme. And this change of topic is fluid. No man finds anything out of the ordinary when the change happens. It’s normal. It’s natural.
Against this the conversation between women or with a woman is more linear in structure. Discussion is focused and exchange measured. I am not disparaging the quality of the theme; it can be as thoughtful and weighty as it comes. But the conversation never wavers; it does not traverse any heights or depths like a male banter.
So how does this simple comparison prove that men help societies evolve? Is just the conversation?
My dear Watson, conversation is just an analogy for the male mind.
Think of male conversation/mind like dots - what seems random, when connected can sometimes create a masterpiece. The beauty of the male conversation/mind lies in juxtaposing disparate thoughts and subjects next to each other and that opens a realm of possibilities.
Only in chaos you can find order.
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3 comments:
One must differentiate between Man- the person and Man- the psyche.
Most men do not expand the boundaries of either human thought or human endeavor....most are satisfied just existing...just living through insignificant lives...
Getting a promotion at office or raising a family is not an achievement, it is a given...where are the Alexanders, the Changezs, the Einsteins, the Aristotles, the Neil Armstrongs, the Chanakyas, Mahatmas, the Marie Curies (even some women exhibit the male psyche of curiosity and innovation)...
Unfortunately, most men do not exhibit the male psyche of innovation, of stretching the envelope of human existence...of leaving behind footprints on the sands of time...
I am one such man...
Yet I have hope...someday..
"Lives of great men all remind us
We can make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us
Footprints on the sands of time..."
ws a mighty interesting read. two thoughts came to my mind simulataneously while reading this post:
1) a sweeping observation a prof had made in the class while discussing 'milestones in history' tht whenever anything was to be carried out on a large scale, the control ws taken away from women and handed over to men. Thus, women cook the meal at home, but at hotels- male chefs dominate, women teach their children the basics, but once they go in school, there too males dominate (this ws especially so in the times of my grandparents, not so much now) and so on...
2) a quote i read somewhere- men can successfully build bridges and buildings and so on, but happily give up on sewing a button to the shirt.
male conversation is random, off-beat and often i think tht the male-talk lacks a kind of depth, as in, whtever they say, they mean it at the moment and yet can get it out of the system the very next second. women, on the other hand, tend to carry a lot of baggage of thoughts in and out of conversations...
...oh yes. nothing like a good male friend to talk crap with...
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