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Myths

I absolutely despise myths with all my might :p It's interesting some of the stupid things people will believe.
I especially loathe nature myths.
I'm sure everyone has heard about cottonmouths being so aggressive they chase you, bats flying into your hair, and goldfish having a three second memory span (all of these are FALSE!!!)
although I do sort of like some myths becuase they're just so stupid. For example the myth about milksnakes going into barns at night and drinking milk out of cows' udders, etc...

so... this is your chance to dispell some myths and tell us which ones you like/dislike.
 
Gender myths. They're in the top five on my list of pet peeves. Especially since the majority of the population seems to buy into them without question.
 
like? I know some things aren't myths. For example on average women smell (have a better sense of smell.. although you could say both LOL) better than men, women are better at communication, men really do hate asking for directions, etc..
 
Well, you listed two of them.

I like to think I'm pretty lucid with my communication here, and I've never once been lost and not asked directions if I could.

These things bother me because, like the racial differences we mentioned in the other thread, even if there are tendancies "statistically", they're typically almost useless in predicting the behavior of the next person you meet. People aren't statistics. You really don't know what's inside a person until you get to know them, and it's easier (and vastly more fair to that person) to just skip the preconceptions entirely. I actually can't think of a single girl I know who really fits the female stereotype, nor can I think of a single guy I know who really fits the male stereotype. They're all just... human.

It drives me crazy that even while people are crusading to put an end to prejudice (pre-judgement) towards various groups and minorities, making gender assumptions seems to be perfectly acceptable... the status quo in fact. As if 3 billion humans could ever possibly agree on anything.

Plus people are being encouraged to "find what they're looking for" where this is concerned. For example, maybe one day a guy slips up and does something that happens to fit a negative male stereotype. Maybe he's not feeling well that day... maybe he happened to have a lot on his mind... who knows. But to a girl who witnesses it who believes in these gender myths, suddenly he becomes "typical". Suddenly he's bearing the full burden of this elaborate caricature people have created in their minds. All because he was just having a bad day. It's just another form of top-down thinking if you ask me.

I also feel the whole emulating-those-most-superficially-similar phenomenon is playing a big part in this. People want to have an identity and they want to belong, so they look to others they perceive to be in their "group" for cues on how to behave. So I think a lot of people fall into these stereotypes not because of innate differences but because they just figure that's the role they're supposed to grow into. Or in the case of the negative stereotypes, many of them get lazy and figure it's easier to just blame your gender on your character flaws than it is to actually improve yourself. How these stereotypes started, I don't know... it's a bit like the chicken and the egg. I do believe some of it has biological origins... but I think there's been a lot of snowballing and exaggeration. Maybe I'm odd but when an animal instinct pops up that gets in the way of what I really want, I haven't found it very difficult to just brush it aside.

I haven't read this book yet, but I already know I'll be recommending it to people. Sounds like it's right up my alley.

I don't mean to go on a tirade... it's just a big sore spot for me. I'm tired of people thinking they can tell me who I am because I have a Y chromosome.
 
Geez, why do all my forum posts look like essays by the time I hit submit.

I have a bad habit of rambling.
 
I have the same habit...by the way Luis informed me that birds DO NOT explode when you feed them rice. Well not necessarily explode....but yeah..you know what I mean.
 
Maybe rice won't make a bird explode, but don't give it pop rocks & soda. The shrapnel is dangerous.
 
also the myths "Bats are blind" and "Blind as a bat."
Thats complete rubbish, bats have very good eyesight.
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] ]they're typically almost useless in predicting the behavior of the next person you meet. People aren't statistics
well, those things are how the average male/female is like. Of course there are differences and you can't predict how someone will act just because of their sex. I don't think anyone is saying you can.
There have been many stuides that show that ON AVERAGE males are better at certain things than females and viceversa. Male and female brains do work differently... for example there was this study where they had a boy and a girl toddlers and their moms put them in a room and then went behind a barrier. The girls (they're toddlers so they don't have this notion of how they're supposed to behave certain ways because of their gender) usually cried so that their mom would come and get them, and the boys stood up and went and tried to figure out how to get past the barrier. (later in life that doesn't happen though :p...)
another example of gender differences is like with stories... and I've noticed it myself... women GENERALLY give you TONS of details (my mom!!! ... I don't really want to know about the little towels in the office... and there she is telling me all about them LOL) but men are more to the point.
but of course I'm not saying every fe/male is like that. For example I also like to rant a lot... :p (as many people have noticed)
and I do think that males are less likely to ask for help... I HATE asking for help but my female friens will ask for help at any little thing :p
[b said:
Quote[/b] ]Thats complete rubbish, bats have very good eyesight.
well, it depends on the species of bat. I wouldn't say the nocturnal ones have very good eyesight. they're by no means blind but I think saying they have a very good eyesight is an overstatement.
 
  • #10
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personally I think some things ARE myths and that they're caused by society but others, like boys playing rogh while girls play nice are true. That is because we're predisposed to be like that (..this is coming from a guy that has never had a fist fight in his whole life... I've never been physically aggressive at all... nor liked sports.. but there are always exceptions) because of evolution. Men were the hunters and needed to be aggressive and need to be good with directions (to come home and not get lost) while the females have been the gatherers and nurturers and have to have good communication skills etc...

By the way... I'm not saying one sex is in any way (well... personally I think being able to pee while standing up is a big plus LOL) better than the other or that just because you're fe/male you will act a certain way. after all, I've never been your typical boy (oy... please don't twist my words and get the wrong meaning!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I know someone will though
mad.gif
 )
 
  • #12
[b said:
Quote[/b] (TheAlphaWolf @ Feb. 16 2005,6:31)]Men were the hunters and needed to be aggressive and need to be good with directions (to come home and not get lost) while the females have been the gatherers and nurturers and have to have good communication skills etc...
alpha let me just say this you are treding on thin ice here and are making alot of assumptions with these statements. also alot of what we see as typical male or typical female behavior is culturally shaped. the not asking for help thing is mostly a western(prob. american) concept. in other cultures it is prefectly acceptable for a man to ask for help with something or ask for directions. you have to remove culture from people(which is very very unethical) in order to study this fully.

There are a few inherent differences in male and female brains, like size, but interms of true cognition there is not differnce.
 
  • #13
I think myths are fun as long as you know it's a myth! Anyone here watch the "mythbusters" show on the Discovery Channel? They use scientific methods to prove or disprove urban legends.
 
  • #14
I definatly like old myths better. Like the Greek ones and Norse (My favorite). I cannot stand moralistic ones (IE in my opinon "Chiristian" ones that refer to that religion).
 
  • #15
Bats being blind is not a myth. They use sonar not vision combined with sense of smell. They send out a signal and their brain interprets what the signal "looks" like based on its timing, frequency, etc...

Joe
 
  • #16
[b said:
Quote[/b] ]  also alot of what we see as typical male or typical female behavior is culturally shaped.
I know culture is a big part, but fe/males are naturally better at some things that I would think don't have anything to do with culture. Like the fact that men are usually (again... not everyone I know! I get lost very easily... my mom is better than me at that) better with keeping a mental map than females. In today's society, how is that culturally imposed? I'm sure everybody, no matter what their sex is, would love to never get lost.
I also think that many things (such as the relationship of religion and ethics) both make each other. I think that the culture is the way it is because of those differences but the culture just makes those differences more obvious...and sometimes outright extreme. it's like mutual symbiosis... which evolved first? the fungus or the algae (in a lichen)? (ok... not the greatest example but I'm not good with examples), neither... both evolved with each other and made each other what they are. I think it's the same with gender differences and culture (and ethics and religion)
[b said:
Quote[/b] ]Bats being blind is not a myth. They use sonar not vision combined with sense of smell. They send out a signal and their brain interprets what the signal "looks" like based on its timing, frequency, etc...
yes it is... they're like dolphins. They both use echolocation but that doesn't mean they're blind.
echolocation is made by emitting high pitched noises (with their mouth, blowhole passage thing, etc) and then listening for their echos (with their ears). Echolocation doesn't take the place of sight.
 
  • #17
[b said:
Quote[/b] (ktulu @ Feb. 16 2005,10:49)]There are a few inherent differences in male and female brains, like size, but interms of true cognition there is not differnce.
Did you read the link I posted?

"He (Michael Gurian) believes there are about a hundred structural differences that have been identified between the male and female brain."

It makes perfect sense to me for evolution to have favored slightly more specialized minds for each gender.
 
  • #18
[b said:
Quote[/b] (superimposedhope @ Feb. 16 2005,6:27)]Bats being blind is not a myth. They use sonar not vision combined with sense of smell. They send out a signal and their brain interprets what the signal "looks" like based on its timing, frequency, etc...

Joe
What is wrong with you? Bats are not blind in fact they have better vision then Humans and can see color (If I remember the article right). Look up Bat Conservation International Online hopefully the site will dispell all your mis-beliefs.
Or if you want I can copy the article and mail it to you.
From a pround member of BCI
 
  • #19
Ahh geez not evolution again. Myths not evolution people come on. I do not want this to be locked also
 
  • #20
I don't think it's a matter of opinion that those differences exist (so they're not myths). Where the opinion comes in is in determining what the cause for those differences is (I think it's both biology and culture... all intertwined) and if those differences make a difference (lol that's sounds funny). to acknowledge that those differences exist doesn't make you sexist, it's when you start to say all fe/males are like that or when you make one better than the other.
Just like saying that the average american is wealthier than the average ethiopian doesn't make you racist (or... whatever that would make you... is there even a word?) because it's just a fact. it's how you interpret those facts that makes you racist/sexist/etc.
 
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