Nice article in the San Francisco Chronicle about that new book by neuropsychiatrist Louann Brizendine about the difference between male and female brains. A very trendy topic, but the book sounds very sensible (i.e., I agree with what she's reported to say! -- how else would we define sensible?). I was particularly taken with something she said that wasn't mentioned in this article, but I heard elsewhere -- that women get a dopamine high from talking. It's something I've noticed about myself, but I never thought of it in those terms.

Oh we are such slaves of our perceptions! Here's an interesting little study. People given a large bowl gave themselves 31% more icecream than those given a bowl half the size. Those given a 3-oz spoon to serve themselves with also gave themselves more (14.5%) than those given a 2-oz spoon. Those given both the big bowl and big spoon gave themselves 56.8% more! The point is, they had no idea they were doing this -- and here's the kicker -- these were nutrition experts! Presumably those of us less savvy would be even worse.