posted
I apologize if this has been brought up before (I've been lurking for a long time but I'm a newbie poster
One of my professors once told the class that whenever the male population becomes significantly higher than the female population, there is a major war. Seems plausible, but considering that this was an art professor who was quite the feminist, I've always wondered whether this was true.. has anyone ever heard of any studies on this?
I did a quick Google search and came across this :
quote:There is an even more interesting phenomena in which the ratio of male/female births actually increases -- with even more males being born years prior to major wars! There is the suggestion -- originally made by Helen Wambaugh -- that prior to major wars there is a notable increase in the male population.
However, I didn't get to look around that site, so I have no idea what the site is about or if it's accurate (it's looks like a New Age site). Plus, I have no idea who Helen Wambaugh is But my main question is - has there ever been a study on this?
-------------------- "...and if you take cranberries and stew them like applesauce they taste much more like prunes than rhubarb does." ~~Groucho Marx~~ Posts: 392 | From: Virginia | Registered: Oct 2005
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quote:One of my professors once told the class that whenever the male population becomes significantly higher than the female population, there is a major war. Seems plausible, but considering that this was an art professor who was quite the feminist, I've always wondered whether this was true.
If that were true, shouldn't China have started a major war by now? I don't know if any country has ever had a greater imbalance in the male/female ratio (except perhaps in the immediate aftermath of a major war) in modern times than China does now.
quote:Originally posted by snopes: If that were true, shouldn't China have started a major war by now? I don't know if any country has ever had a greater imbalance in the male/female ratio (except perhaps in the immediate aftermath of a major war) in modern times than China does now.
Hmm... now that you mention it, I always assumed my professor meant worldwide male population, not national, but your example of China makes me wonder since she didn't specify. The theory basically implies that an increase in male population leads to a huge increase in aggressiveness. This sounds like the makings of a UL (and a sexist one, to boot!
-------------------- "...and if you take cranberries and stew them like applesauce they taste much more like prunes than rhubarb does." ~~Groucho Marx~~ Posts: 392 | From: Virginia | Registered: Oct 2005
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posted
Sounds similar to the story that after a war, you get more boy births than girl births.
Posts: 142 | From: Netherlands | Registered: Aug 2005
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quote:Originally posted by Autumn Neko: One of my professors once told the class that whenever the male population becomes significantly higher than the female population, there is a major war.
Define 'major war'. The list is rather short, WW1, WW2 . This leaves a very small base with which to compare populations, and you would need to allow for regional variations in the male / female ration and for the lack of accurate data. Sound bunk to me. Ironically, I have heard that more men are born after a major war to compensate for the lost men. No, I didn't believe that either.
-------------------- I like free speech. It lets me know who the idiots are. Posts: 407 | From: Ireland | Registered: Jul 2005
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posted
All I know is that the gender ratio right now in America is skewed so that there are more males aged 20-44 than females.
The ratio of men to women has been rising steadily for several decades. There's a story out in Discover Magazine this month about it.
Posts: 64 | From: Irvine, CA | Registered: Sep 2005
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posted
I remember a theory that testosterone levels in women and men make having a boy or a girl more likely. My straw smaple of five families where all the children were of the same sex found this to be true, therefore it must be true!
What does this have to do with war? Nowt.
Surely the ratio of male to female leaders (and senior government officials) of countries would be more relevent to this example. After all it is they, not the people, who declare war, that is assuming males are more war happy than females. Argentina put their eggs in that basket in 1982 and paid the price. *waves Union Jack timidly in a very British way*
-------------------- Vox populi vox canem Posts: 1985 | From: Reading, England | Registered: Dec 2002
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quote:One of my professors once told the class that whenever the male population becomes significantly higher than the female population, there is a major war. Seems plausible, but considering that this was an art professor who was quite the feminist, I've always wondered whether this was true.
If that were true, shouldn't China have started a major war by now? I don't know if any country has ever had a greater imbalance in the male/female ratio (except perhaps in the immediate aftermath of a major war) in modern times than China does now.
- snopes
I read this same theory somewhere (I had thought this was Huntington's "Clash of Civilisations" but having quickly checked can find no more than a hint of it) in the context of likely military adventurism by China in the next 10-20 years.
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But my main question is - has there ever been a study on this?
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