- #1
velocity_boy
Hey guys...I need help here with a non-science question. Well, maybe not really non-science, if we can include "probability and statistics" to be a science discipline! LOL
This be the deal...me and my wife recently went into an auto parts store. I'm usually pretty good about automotive knowledge but this one I needed a product recommnedation for something I knew I needed, which was a very hi-heat tolerant metal repair kit.
So...as I entered a young, female clerk at the front desk immediately asked me if she could help. I politely waved her off and pointed to her older, male co-worker who was just finishing-up with another customer. Indicating to the girl clerk that I was needing to see him.
But really I didn't know either of the employees. I just assumed (and here lies the crux of the ensuing argument with my wife) that the chances were far better that an older man would posses more automotive repair knowledge than a very young Hispanic girl. Of course I am not saying that all women are lacking in auto knowledge. I am sure there are a few out there who know far more than me. But, all I am claiming, as I did to my wife after we left and she said I was being sexist, was that, why not play the odds? Since, although, again, there ARE exceptions to the rule here, I think it is common knowledge that the odds, the stats, would tell us that in this particular field of expertise, the chances are greater that a middle-aged male knows more than a young woman.
So...who's right? Was I just craftily playing the odds to be in my favor with some objective reasoning, or am I, alas, as DW says, a hopeless male chauvinist?
Thanks for your time!
VB
This be the deal...me and my wife recently went into an auto parts store. I'm usually pretty good about automotive knowledge but this one I needed a product recommnedation for something I knew I needed, which was a very hi-heat tolerant metal repair kit.
So...as I entered a young, female clerk at the front desk immediately asked me if she could help. I politely waved her off and pointed to her older, male co-worker who was just finishing-up with another customer. Indicating to the girl clerk that I was needing to see him.
But really I didn't know either of the employees. I just assumed (and here lies the crux of the ensuing argument with my wife) that the chances were far better that an older man would posses more automotive repair knowledge than a very young Hispanic girl. Of course I am not saying that all women are lacking in auto knowledge. I am sure there are a few out there who know far more than me. But, all I am claiming, as I did to my wife after we left and she said I was being sexist, was that, why not play the odds? Since, although, again, there ARE exceptions to the rule here, I think it is common knowledge that the odds, the stats, would tell us that in this particular field of expertise, the chances are greater that a middle-aged male knows more than a young woman.
So...who's right? Was I just craftily playing the odds to be in my favor with some objective reasoning, or am I, alas, as DW says, a hopeless male chauvinist?
Thanks for your time!
VB