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Why Men Die Younger Than Women: The 'Guys Are Fragile' Thesis

10 points by thejteam 13y ago

btilly 13y ago
There is another interesting factor. Women seem to have more active immune systems. This gives them a lot more cases of the sniffles, but less of a chance of dying outright.
lazyjones 13y ago
I have another theory: girls just receive more attention and more care than boys, at any age.
- thejteam 13y ago
  That could explain childhood and adult injury/illness, but not in-utero fatality, which the article is claiming. I didn't try and check their claims, however.
- EliRivers 13y ago
  That doesn't seem to be true. In almost all societies where there is a significant disparity between the treatment of boys and girls, boys are far more highly prized. They are first in the line for food, medicine, education.
StefanKarpinski 13y ago
What a cheat. The "theory" advanced here is that "mean are weaker" with no further explanation, which is just a restatement of the fact that needs explaining – namely that men tend to die off at a higher rate across all ages.
- coldtea 13y ago
  >What a cheat. The "theory" advanced here is that "mean are weaker" with no further explanation Em, the article offers several explanations. Perhaps you skipped them?
  - john_b 13y ago
    Actually, the explanations the article put forward were unrelated to the "male weakness" hypothesis. Riskier lifestyles, tougher treatment of their bodies by men, unspecified effects by testerone, and size differences were all listed as explanations. Near the end, after these explanations had been discarded as insufficient to explain the full difference, we get this: "Something about being male 'influences unfavorably the resistance ... to disease at all ages.' He called it 'male weakness.'" The quote then reuses the same basic argument by the author, that there are numerous valid reasons that men die younger, but they cannot explain the full difference. Because of this, the author claims that there must be some other force at play (which is quite likely true) but instead of offering a scientifically testable hypothesis he simply chalks it up to some vague notion of male weakness. Even if "male weakness" was better defined, no further explanation is offered to support this theory at all. It's definitely a cheat. The article started with sound data and logic and ended with an arbitrary conclusion not based on any of the prior considerations. It allows the author to assert a predetermined conclusion based on the appearance of thorough research.
chrisbennet 13y ago
Married men die before their wives - because they want to. ;-)

10 points by thejteam 13y ago

There is another interesting factor. Women seem to have more active immune systems. This gives them a lot more cases of the sniffles, but less of a chance of dying outright.

lazyjones 13y ago

I have another theory: girls just receive more attention and more care than boys, at any age.

thejteam 13y ago
That could explain childhood and adult injury/illness, but not in-utero fatality, which the article is claiming. I didn't try and check their claims, however.
EliRivers 13y ago
That doesn't seem to be true. In almost all societies where there is a significant disparity between the treatment of boys and girls, boys are far more highly prized. They are first in the line for food, medicine, education.

StefanKarpinski 13y ago

What a cheat. The "theory" advanced here is that "mean are weaker" with no further explanation, which is just a restatement of the fact that needs explaining – namely that men tend to die off at a higher rate across all ages.

coldtea 13y ago
>What a cheat. The "theory" advanced here is that "mean are weaker" with no further explanation Em, the article offers several explanations. Perhaps you skipped them?
- john_b 13y ago
  Actually, the explanations the article put forward were unrelated to the "male weakness" hypothesis. Riskier lifestyles, tougher treatment of their bodies by men, unspecified effects by testerone, and size differences were all listed as explanations. Near the end, after these explanations had been discarded as insufficient to explain the full difference, we get this: "Something about being male 'influences unfavorably the resistance ... to disease at all ages.' He called it 'male weakness.'" The quote then reuses the same basic argument by the author, that there are numerous valid reasons that men die younger, but they cannot explain the full difference. Because of this, the author claims that there must be some other force at play (which is quite likely true) but instead of offering a scientifically testable hypothesis he simply chalks it up to some vague notion of male weakness. Even if "male weakness" was better defined, no further explanation is offered to support this theory at all. It's definitely a cheat. The article started with sound data and logic and ended with an arbitrary conclusion not based on any of the prior considerations. It allows the author to assert a predetermined conclusion based on the appearance of thorough research.

chrisbennet 13y ago

Married men die before their wives - because they want to. ;-)