is chess a bloke thing?

Originally posted by twhitehead
It is a lot more than that. It probably has a lot more to do with sex and relationships than it does with 'tasks' in primitive hunter-gatherer societies.
In almost all animals the physical and behavioral differences between the sexes have to do with the fact that the female invests more in the pregnancy and is usually the most likely to raise the childre ...[text shortened]... Because you think shes more likely to marry you, stay at home and look after the children.

Originally posted by KazetNagorra
I mean "tasks" in a very general sense, i.e. activities during the day (including raising offspring).

Originally posted by wittywonka
http://www.engr.psu.edu/fff/misc/summers-v-XX_press_050209.pdf

"The president of Harvard University, Lawrence H. Summers, sparked an uproar at
an academic conference Friday when he said that innate differences between men
and women might be one reason fewer women succeed in science and math
careers. Summers also questioned how much of a role discrim ...[text shortened]... n plays in the
dearth of female professors in science and engineering at elite universities."

Originally posted by twhitehead
OK. But I still say it has less to do with diversity of tasks and more to do with which skills are selected for when choosing a mate.

Originally posted by KazetNagorra
Yeah, maybe so, I'm not an expert on human evolution.

Originally posted by yavash
why is chess so male dominanted?

Originally posted by Kunsoo
"Different from"

In any case, I do think there are inherent differences, though I would like to know why American women are represented so much higher in poker than chess, which is the opposite in other countries. And why is the nation of Georgia so highly represented by women when it was one of the most sexist members of the Soviet Union for decades in cultural terms?

Chess is a foolish expedient for making idle people believe they are doing something very clever when they are only wasting their time.”

- maybe women have more important things to be getting on with!!!!!!!!!!!

Originally posted by twhitehead
OK. But I still say it has less to do with diversity of tasks and more to do with which skills are selected for when choosing a mate.

Originally posted by yavash
why is chess so male dominanted?

Originally posted by Kunsoo
Whether consciously or viscerally, I do think that most men select women who are intelligent.

Originally posted by Kunsoo
Whether consciously or viscerally, I do think that most men select women who are intelligent. It certainly helps to perpetuate the species.

Originally posted by KazetNagorra
Evolution doesn't select behaviour that helps to perpetuate the species.

Originally posted by twhitehead
It depends on the situation. My view is that 'dumb blonds' are popular for a quick fling and 'spreading the wild oats' and intelligent girls are more popular for a more permanent relationship. I think girls also often have different characteristics they look for depending on the type of relationship they are looking for.

[b]It certainly helps to perpet ...[text shortened]... world, the highest population growth is occurring in the poorest and least educated places.

Originally posted by Kunsoo
I've got about half a dozen books on my shelf by authors who disagree, and I don't know why it wouldn't given that the bulk of our behavior is in fact patterned despite our assumptions of free will.