Schopenhauer, the German pessimist philosopher, wrote in 1851 that only a man overcome by his sexual impulses could have given the name of the fair sex "to that undersized, narrow-shouldered, broad-hipped and short-legged race."

Despite the many differences between the sexes, from average weight and height to body fat, there has been an assumption that these are only skin deep and that intellect is essentially the same.

The recent publications of the latest in a growing body of research demonstrate that our brains are different too and fuel the fear that science may provide an antidote to demands for women's emancipation: if male dominance is all the nature's fault, then patriarchy is inevitable.

Feminist can, however, breathe a sign of relief at the new findings, which provide the first evidence from measurements of electrical activity that the brain of a woman can work faster than that of a man...