Men are inclined to take more risks than women. A new study suggests that men also tend to take more "idiotic risks" and as such, they are more stupid than women.
A team of researchers in the United Kingdom used the Darwin Awards Database, a humorous honor that has existed for over 20 years, and analyzed the sex that took more idiotic risks.
The study, which is detailed in the Christmas issue of the journal BMJ, suggests that sex differences in admissions to emergency departments and mortality are documented properly. Findings of previous studies reveal that men are at elevated risks in comparison to women.
Compared to females, males have a higher probability of being admitted to a hospital following an injury related to sports or traffic collisions; they also face an elevated mortality rate.
The study also highlights that socioeconomic and cultural factors, among others, should be taken into account. In some cultures, men are more likely to be involved in sports that are considered more risky. Men also dominate some employment areas such as construction.
Males may be more exposed to high-risk jobs and sports, but the researchers found that sex differences in high-risk seeking attitude have been found at an early age. This raises questions regarding how much of these behaviors can be attributed to cultural or social differences.
"According to 'male idiot theory' (MIT), many of the differences in risk seeking behavior, emergency department admissions, and mortality may be explained by the observation that men are idiots and idiots do stupid things. There are anecdotal data supporting MIT, but to date there has been no systematic analysis of sex differences in idiotic risk-taking behavior," the research suggests.
The study involved reviewing the stories of all nominees of the Darwin Awards from 1995 to 2014 and taking note of the gender of the award winner. To qualify for the Darwin Awards, a nominee must be capable enough to make a sound judgement, and the story of the death should be verifiable.
The researchers analyzed 332 cases that were verified by the Darwin Awards Committee. The committee rejected 14 death cases involving adventurous couples.
From the remaining 318 cases, just 36 of them involved women. The remaining 282 winners, or a total of 88.7 percent, were men.
