Spaghetti and Waffles; an Interesting Metaphor for the Mind
I once heard a quote explaining the difference between the minds of men and women. It said “women’s brains are like spaghetti; intertwined thoughts that all connect together. While men’s brains are like waffles; individual boxes that focus on one thought at a time”. Besides it being somewhat of a kindergarten approach to mental matter, (quite the picture painted isn’t it?) I found this to be an interesting metaphor. I gravitated towards the analysis for women, since I just happen to be one, and I wondered, how these multiple, ongoing, thoughts actually benefit us.
Ironically, when I turned on the TV later that day, the movie “What Women Want” was on TBS. For those who haven’t seen it, it’s a romance flick, which portrays a man, who, by a random act of the universe, is able to hear the inner thoughts of women. I wasn’t paying close attention, but one scene stood out over the rest; Mel Gibson circling Central Park, completely disoriented by the stream of dialogue, exuding from the minds of women. A constant flow of chatter, silent on the outside, noisy on the inside; “Did I turn the coffee pot off, I am sure I did. Or maybe I only think I did.” “One piece of toast equals one hundred calories, plus an apple equals forty calories that is one hundred and forty in total.” “I hope I don’t look nervous in my presentation today.” And, when he’d approach the women to discuss what he had heard, they would smile as if nothing else was going on. The movie, although meant as a lightheartedly comedy, seems to show that there is so much said, in the unsaid.
How many of us women are weighed down by the constant talking in our minds each day? And many of us don’t really share it with anyone else but ourselves. Can you relate to this? (Please, don’t get me wrong, I know men have stresses and pressures too, but I won’t even attempt to act like I understand what goes on in a man’s head). The next morning, I brought my questions to the gym with me, and decided to “notice what I notice.” There we were, 6 women in a row, ranging in age from 20-60, with nothing else in common but treadmills, walkmans, and “spaghetti” thoughts. We were each running at our individual pace, yet not really going anywhere (it’s treadmill after all). Besides the distant murmur of music, and the sound of our steps landing on the rotating belt, it was pretty quite. Sure, none of us were talking out in the open, but what conversations were going on in our heads?
We were all reunited in front of the mirrors in the change room. And, as we each prepped ourselves for work; putting on makeup, styling our hair…we stood in total silence. Yet, in the twenty minutes it took me to get ready, I was able to cover a range of topics, just with myself; “I think I should take Bernard to work, what do I want for breakfast, a muffin? But if I have a muffin then I shouldn’t eat out for lunch, maybe I’ll have yogurt. Darn, I need to get groceries, oh, shoot, I need to get a birthday present for Megan. Don’t forget that! Write it down! Oh I need to finish my query letter, I have so much writing to do. And, email Megan when I get to work. Work today. Make sure I make my calls first, call mom, I hope I can get down to the coast to visit, I haven’t been there since January, January seems so far away, man the year goes fast, what is going to happen this year, where will I be in a year from now…hey, I really like those shoes that woman is wearing!”
I left the gym, laughing. Isn’t it ironic, how the outside world only sees a fraction of what is really going on? If I as able to sort through that many things on my own, one can only imagine the amount of energy women concentrate on multi tasking each day. Would we be any better off if we narrowed in our focus? You know, Jump into a waffle box and really narrowed in on one particular thought? Maybe. But then, again, I kind of like the fact that no matter where I am or what I am thinking about…I’ll always be able to notice a cool pair of shoes.
© Desiree Daniel February 18, 2005
EventLife! Publication February 25, 2005 www.eventpub.com
Ironically, when I turned on the TV later that day, the movie “What Women Want” was on TBS. For those who haven’t seen it, it’s a romance flick, which portrays a man, who, by a random act of the universe, is able to hear the inner thoughts of women. I wasn’t paying close attention, but one scene stood out over the rest; Mel Gibson circling Central Park, completely disoriented by the stream of dialogue, exuding from the minds of women. A constant flow of chatter, silent on the outside, noisy on the inside; “Did I turn the coffee pot off, I am sure I did. Or maybe I only think I did.” “One piece of toast equals one hundred calories, plus an apple equals forty calories that is one hundred and forty in total.” “I hope I don’t look nervous in my presentation today.” And, when he’d approach the women to discuss what he had heard, they would smile as if nothing else was going on. The movie, although meant as a lightheartedly comedy, seems to show that there is so much said, in the unsaid.
How many of us women are weighed down by the constant talking in our minds each day? And many of us don’t really share it with anyone else but ourselves. Can you relate to this? (Please, don’t get me wrong, I know men have stresses and pressures too, but I won’t even attempt to act like I understand what goes on in a man’s head). The next morning, I brought my questions to the gym with me, and decided to “notice what I notice.” There we were, 6 women in a row, ranging in age from 20-60, with nothing else in common but treadmills, walkmans, and “spaghetti” thoughts. We were each running at our individual pace, yet not really going anywhere (it’s treadmill after all). Besides the distant murmur of music, and the sound of our steps landing on the rotating belt, it was pretty quite. Sure, none of us were talking out in the open, but what conversations were going on in our heads?
We were all reunited in front of the mirrors in the change room. And, as we each prepped ourselves for work; putting on makeup, styling our hair…we stood in total silence. Yet, in the twenty minutes it took me to get ready, I was able to cover a range of topics, just with myself; “I think I should take Bernard to work, what do I want for breakfast, a muffin? But if I have a muffin then I shouldn’t eat out for lunch, maybe I’ll have yogurt. Darn, I need to get groceries, oh, shoot, I need to get a birthday present for Megan. Don’t forget that! Write it down! Oh I need to finish my query letter, I have so much writing to do. And, email Megan when I get to work. Work today. Make sure I make my calls first, call mom, I hope I can get down to the coast to visit, I haven’t been there since January, January seems so far away, man the year goes fast, what is going to happen this year, where will I be in a year from now…hey, I really like those shoes that woman is wearing!”
I left the gym, laughing. Isn’t it ironic, how the outside world only sees a fraction of what is really going on? If I as able to sort through that many things on my own, one can only imagine the amount of energy women concentrate on multi tasking each day. Would we be any better off if we narrowed in our focus? You know, Jump into a waffle box and really narrowed in on one particular thought? Maybe. But then, again, I kind of like the fact that no matter where I am or what I am thinking about…I’ll always be able to notice a cool pair of shoes.
© Desiree Daniel February 18, 2005
EventLife! Publication February 25, 2005 www.eventpub.com
posted by Desiree Daniel @ 4:50 PM
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