It was on e-mail, in fact, that I described to Ralph how boys in groups often struggle to get the upper hand whereas girls tend to maintain an appearance of cooperation.
And he pointed out that this explained why boys are more likely to be captivated by computers than girls are.
他指出，这种现象恰恰解释了为什么男孩比女孩更容易被电脑迷住。
Boys are typically motivated by a social structure that says if you don't dominate you will be dominated.
“不制人则制于人”的社会机制通常能激发男孩们的积极性。
Computers, by their nature, balk: you type a perfectly appropriate command and it refuses to do what it should.
电脑生性不驯：你输入一句非常恰当的指令，它却拒绝执行。
Many boys and men are incited by this defiance: "I'm going to whip this into line and teach it who's boss!
许多男孩和男人们被这种挑衅激怒：“我要好好调教调教它，让它知道谁说了算！
I'll get it to do what I say!" (and if they work hard enough, they always can).
我要让它俯首帖耳！”（要是他们足够努力，他们总能做到。）
Girls and women are more likely to respond, "This thing won't cooperate. Get it away from me!"
女孩和女人们则更可能会说：“这个东西不合作。把它拿走吧！”
Although no one wants to think of herself as "typical", my relationship to my computer is fairly typical for a woman.
虽然没人想把自己归入“典型性”的那一类，但对于一个女人来说，我和电脑之间的关系却颇具典型性。
Most women (with plenty of exceptions) aren't excited by tinkering with the technology, grappling with the challenge of eliminating bugs or getting the biggest and best computer.
These dynamics appeal to many men's interest in making sure they're on the top side of the inevitable who's-up-who's-down struggle that life is for them.
评论
打印
