[Grotesque]

The eyes have it all

Women not only have a greater variety of cones in the retina, they also have wider peripheral vision than men. As a nest-defender, a woman has brain software that allows her to receive an arc of at least 45 degrees clear vision to each side of her head and above and below her nose. A man’s eyes are larger than a woman’s and his brain configures them for a type of long distance tunnel vision which means that he can see clearly and accurately directly in front of him and over greater distance, almost like a pair of binoculars. As a hunter, a man needed vision that would allow him to zero in on, and pursue, targets in the distance. He evolved with almost blinkered vision so what he would not be distracted from targets, whereas a woman needed eyes to allow a wide arc of vision so that she could monitor any predators sneaking up on the nest. In the UK in 1997, there were 4,132 child pedestrians killed or injured on the roads, of which 2,640 where boys and 1,492 were girls. Boys take more risks crossing the road than girls and this, combined with poorer peripheral vision, increases their injury rate. You can increase your peripheral vision range with practice, just as fighter pilots do

“Women have wider peripheral vision, men have tunnel vision”