2 thoughts on “Different Wiring”

  1. What do we make of this quote:
    “You can argue that this difference is due to social influences, although I suspect it’s largely innate, a byproduct of evolution and testosterone. ”
    Mr. Tierney, you don’t have any idea whether that’s true or not. Please, stop with the unsubstantiated assertions. It is not helping the discussion.
    In my opinion, women don’t choose to compete as much because historically, the risks are much higher for us when we lose. A man who fails is seldom told he failed because he was the wrong gender and not suited for the task, after all. Nor is he then used as an example to other members of his gender of why men can’t succeed. The costs of failing and trying again are lower for men. Maybe women don’t like competition because of biology, but I’m more inclined to believe that we are used to settling for less, and consider survival or modest success itself an accomplishment, especially if it’s more than our mothers were able to achieve.
    I think it comes down to confidence, myself, and I think most women don’t have enough of it when it comes to their accomplishments, and I don’t think that has a damn thing to do with biology and everything to do with our culture.

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  2. I am not sure overall how I feel about this column. However the comment about companies that set up competitive systems alienating some workers — that resonates with me. Why does the company picnic have to include a (quasi-mandatory) softball competition? And why is it OK to snipe about someone being “weak” if they choose not to participate? The mindless pursuit of competition is stupid and it goes at the very heart of the culture.

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