subject: Should We Ask More Questions? [print this page] Can hairdressers help fight skin cancer? In a survey of 203 Houston-area hair salon workers, 58% of respondents said they had urged a client at least once to have a mole checked by a doctor. Hairdressers spend lots of time looking at scalps, necks and faces and more than 80% of the most common skin cancers occur on scalps, necks and faces. Because 49% of respondents were willing to receive training in spotting skin cancers, the Melanoma Foundation of New England is developing a program in Massachusetts where in 2011 "Only your hairdresser knows for sure" will take on new meaning.
Why are computer voices mostly female? One answer is biology. The preference for female voices starts in the womb. Fetuses react to their mother's voice - not their father's. History is another answer. The use of female voices in navigation devices dates back to WWII. Female voices stood out among male pilots. Also, when automakers first installed automated voice prompts, consumer research found people overwhelmingly preferred female voices. Then there was the movie "2001: A Space Odyssey". The male voice of HAL, the homicidal computer, left a lastingly bad impression. However, if all computer voices were female, that might "give voice to" sexism.
Are men funnier than women? In a study published in Psychosomatic Bulletin & Review, 16 male and 16 female college students were asked to write funny captions for a blank New Yorker cartoon. Then 34 male and 47 female students ranked the anonymous captions. On average, men scored 0.11 point higher. Although 90% of the male and female participants agreed with the stereotype that men are funnier than women, the difference in scores was too small to support the wide belief in that stereotype - make no bones about it - "funny bones", that is.
Why do baseball managers wear uniforms? National Basketball Association coaches wear street clothes. So do National Football League coaches - although with team logos. Baseball managers wear uniforms because of tradition. In the 19th century the person in baseball who was called the manager was the business manager. He didn't make any decisions about what happened during games. Those decisions were made by the captain. He did what a manager does today, but he was also a player. The tradition continued when the people calling the shots in the dugouts became non-players. It's not a rule that managers were a uniform. It's a "uniform" decision.
