Are you hard-wired for empathy?
Simon Baron-Cohen, the director of the Autism Research Centre at the University of Cambridge, has developed an exam to see if you have a male or female brain. His theory is that males are hardwired for understanding, and females are hardwired for empathy. Before you take the test, do remember that "if you score in the low E [empathy] range, this is by no means an indicator that you have any kind of problem." Heh.
Okay, okay, I'll tell you my scores. My empathy score was a rock-bottom 28 - lower than the female average of 47, and even the male average of 42. It's still a few points higher than those with functioning autism, so I suppose that's a good thing. On the other hand, my systemizing score was 38, which is above the male mean of 30, and way above the female mean of 24.
My brain type? On the cusp of the "Extreme Type S", or male brain. My mom would agree that my brain must be hard-wired differently than most, given my attraction to snakes (some phobia researchers suggest that humans are hard-wired to fear them), but I'm still skeptical.
Now, does Simon Baron-Cohen have an explanation for how a woman can have an "Extreme Type S" male brain and a thriving set of female fat cells? If I've got such a "systemizing" brain, why can't I figure out how to beat this chocolate craving? It's not fair, I tell you.