[Olivier Wright]

Olivier Wright  asked the Naked Scientists:
   
Hi,

First of all congratulations on the show, it's great ! I'm French, living in Paris and been listening to the podcast for a few months now and really enjoy it!

So here is my question: there is a saying in France, more like a common knowledge assumption, I don't know if you have the same in England, that woman are better than men at doing several things at the same time. Now, I get annoyed when my girlfriend says that to me because I don't see any scientific reason why this should be true, but I have to admit, whenever I'm multitasking, I do seem to struggle more than she does, and seen as I don't consider myself particularly slow in general, that gets me wondering.

Is there any scientific reason why women could be more able at mutltiasking than men? Or is this just a legend meant to deflate men's ego?

Thank you for answering, I'll be sure to listen up for the answer !

Best regards,

Olivier Wright from Paris

What do you think?

[Fozzie]

http://plancksconstant.org/blog1/2006/11/ever_wonder_how_a_wo.html

[thebrain13]

I remember seeing a show about it some time ago. I don't know about any physiological differences that would make women better multi-taskers. But I think the theory goes, men would go off to hunt and have to focus on the specific task at hand, while women would stay back and handle all the small things at once, like watching after young, preparing food etc. Therefore women are better multitaskers. I think there is some scientific backing that shows that women can do multiple things at the same time faster than men can. I guess the idea makes sense.