The Eyes have it

I’ve just been reading new research that says men and women see things differently.

Plus another report into how much we check out members of the opposite sex, which says guys are seen to be spending twice as long as the ladies sussing what else is available.

Talk about stating the obvious!

The theory is that male and female brains evolved differently, with a distinct disparity in our eyesight as a result, depending on what each needed to do to survive.

What the researchers failed to see is that a man puts his very life on the line in the event that he is sprung by the Missus whilst checking out other chicks. They also overlooked the well-known syndrome called: “Having a Man’s Look”.

I’ve got to admit, my Beloved is hopeless at the sneak peek.

I have no doubt that he well and truly fits the bill of those men who like a little look from time to time. What he hasn’t developed, in all this evolution, is the skill to do it without me being fully aware of what he’s up to. And he has tried every flimsy excuse in the book when caught in the act of noticing what’s walking past- even to the point of trying to draw my attention to any male in the area instead. (Seriously, what’s worse, thinking your other half is looking at the opposite sex, or checking out their own kind, hmmm?!)

The research also found that men are better at seeing things in the distance, while women are best up close. Something about the men being hunters, and women being gatherers, and all that from way back.

Again I say, that’s pretty darn obvious to any woman who’s ever stood beside a man standing at the cupboard saying “It’s not in here!” … or to any fella giving directions to a female driver who then sails straight past the street she was supposed to turn up, saying she didn’t see the sign! (Guilty, as charged.)

It’s also apparent that this eyesight stuff has been passed down from generation to generation, and actually shows up quite early in the piece. But this fact was also overlooked in the recent research, possibly because it was carried out by males.

Just last week our 7 y.o. son was standing in front of the open fridge trying to find some biscuits, and yelling to me that we needed to buy some more. I simply walked up beside him, reached into the fridge and took the packet off the shelf right at his eye level. My little boy then declared “I must’ve had a Man’s Look!”

Quod erat demonstrandum.

If you want to look into it even further, you will see there’s evidence that women have better peripheral vision than their male mate- around 180 degrees compared with a mere 30. Which is why a mother, for example, can keep an eye on dinner, see what’s on the evening news, and watch over the children all at the same time. A man, on the other hand, can miss one child drawing on another if they’re standing right beside him.

It’s another reason that a male can swear black and blue that his partner has hidden something on him, when it’s really right before their eyes. (It’s a very handy trick, mind you, hiding something in plain sight. I find it works very well with chocolate.)

It also explains why the aforementioned study found that men are seen turning their head when something attractive walks by, twice as often as women.

I’d like to put forward the suggestion that the female of the species also likes to take a look, some just as much as the men do; it’s just that the scope of our vision means we’re less likely to get caught!

Jx
©2009