Dan Abrams - Man Down: Proof Beyond a Reasonable Doubt That Women are Better Cops, Drivers, Gamblers, Spies, World Leaders,

Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, everyone is familiar with the tired clichs: women are bad drivers and arent good with money, they have no sense of direction, and its only guys who have mastered video games. in Man Down, Dan Abrams tackles the toughest case of his career and turns conventional (and sexist) wisdom upside down. Drawing on new research and studies, Dan uses his legal background to prove that women are better than men in just about every way imaginable, from managing money to avoiding lightning to even living longer. Chock-full of fun facts and conversation starters, this book may not end the debate about men versus women, but it will definitely change the starting point.

MAN
DOWN

Editor: Jennifer Levesque
Designer: Laura Klynstra
Production Manager: Tina Cameron

Cataloging-in-Publication Data has been applied for and may be obtained from the Library of Congress.
ISBN 978-0-8109-9829-2

Text copyright 2011 Dan Abrams

Published in 2011 by Abrams Image, an imprint of ABRAMS. All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, mechanical, electronic, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the publisher.

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Why is Dan Abrams, the legal guy from TV, writing a book about women? As I worked on this book, I was repeatedly asked that entirely fair question. After all, my career has been primarily devoted to constitutional debates, salacious legal tales, media analysis, web entrepreneurship, and corporate management. What in that experience possibly qualifies me to weigh in on a battle of the sexes? Im not going to bore you with some hackneyed claim about the importance of the women in my life (which is not to minimize that reality). Nor am I presuming to possess rare insight into women. Let me be clear: I dont. In many ways I remain as bewildered by women as when I was a single man in my midtwenties. Today, as a, well, still single guy in my midforties, I can offer no valuable guidance to men or relationship advice to women for that matter. I remain a consumer of such information, not an expert.

This book is far simpler than that. I am a lawyer, and I have found the evidence of female superiority to be beyond compelling.

It started when I read a lighthearted article about how women are better than men in various professions. Some of these surprised me, so I researched a little to see which ones were actually backed up by legitimate studies. A few were; others were not (one of the areas, for example, was law, but I did not find the evidence either compelling or entertaining enough to make it into this book). In the process, however, I found more and then yet more studiesevidencethat reached the same conclusion.

Early on, I developed a thesis consistent with a sentiment I have long believed to be true: women, as a group, are more deliberative, compassionate, and thoughtful than men. So I assumed that most of the examples I found would relate to intellect, health, communication, and interpersonal skills. Some did, but I quickly found empirical evidence that women are also the superior gender in many other, less obvious areas. Simple research uncovered scores of underreported or nearly ignored studies and research that seem to demonstrate that mano a womano, the womanos come out on top.

So as any lawyer might, I have taken the evidence and condensed it into what I hope is a cogent argument of sorts. But for a lawyer, bringing the right case is only part of the equation. When you bring that case can be crucial as well. So why now? Because the vast majority of the studies referenced here come from the past few years. This is hardly surprising, since only in the past two decades or so have women finally been afforded similar professional and even social opportunities. The obvious consequence is that only now can we evaluate on a fairly level playing field how the girls stack up against the boys.

And why should a member of the losing team chronicle the victory? Well, I guess you could argue it adds credibility to have someone with no vested interest in winning do the job. Lawyers are chosen that way all the time.

But I had the help of a winning team. First, I want to thank my amazing research assistant and collaborator, Frances Martel. Frances began by doing research for me, but by the end she felt more like a partner in this project. With her wit, humor, and smarts, she helped make it what it is. After all, how could I write a book about women being better than men without a womans touch? I also want to thank James Camp for his excellent early work on the project, Sarah Devlin for helping me make my deadlines, and of course my mother, Efrat; my sister, Ronnie; and my nieces, Dylan, Teddy, and Finn, for reminding me every day why this all matters.

You are about to take a guided tour of an array of studies and polls that make the case, as it has not been made before, for women. At the conclusion of this book, when you have seen and digested all the evidence, I believe you will have to agree that the evidence is overwhelming.

But before we embark on this journey, let me begin in reverse with what this case for women is not. It is not a celebration of historys great women. Scores of spectacular women have changed the world for the better. From political leaders to entertainers, from advocates for social change to writers, women have made decisions, taken risks, and advanced society in ways that should be and have been recognized and publicly celebrated. That, however, is not the object here.

Nor is this a mere exercise in reverse sexism. Men arent uniformly inferior to women. They test better in certain subjects and tend to be stronger, taller, and faster than women. I am not convinced that women, as a group, play basketball or read maps (see Chapter 20) better than men.

The evidence here will show, however, that women are living longer and evolving better. They are shining brighter on intelligence tests and displaying a larger appetite at eating competitions. Data suggest that women are more effective gamblers, savvier spies, and more successful hedge fund managers. As leaders, in our marketplace as well as our capitals, men may outnumber womenbut they are also outperformed by them. And when the going gets rough, you may want to seek out a female doctor, cop, or even loan officer.

There are inevitably going to be holes in the argument, and obviously every woman isnt better than every man. (I mean, those damn male drivers do get annoying on the road when you need to be somewhere in a hurry, but that doesnt mean all women are better drivers.) That said, this book isnt just the expression of an opinion; its evidence. In nearly every field, statistics and studies show that women are better collaborators, are more cautious, and are more adept at navigating treacherous terrain. In nearly every field, their error rate is lower. And since women also endure pain better than men, the sting of learning of their inferiority may be tough on the guys.