Loading ...the woman thing
Once upon a time, the first bridge star I ever met gave me a piece of advice that’s with me still: “Work on your pattern recognition,” he said, “that’s what it’s all about.” And you know? A decade later I’m starting to get it. This summer proves it, right? You know, diamonds always split (bid the grand!); and then there’s the woman thing.
Recently came upon a quote that’s been occupying some prime landscape in the middle of my thoughts:
“… the reason there are virtually no female magicians is that a woman cannot command the authority in a room. There are always going to be men and women who won’t give their total suspension of disbelief to a woman the way [they will] give it to a man. …. Magic is about dominance in a way. Unless you have complete authority over the room, and every person believes you … the magician can’t succeed.
[W]riting is a lot like magic. It’s about dominating your audience, and making them believe what you say is true. You have to command the reader’s belief, which I completely believe that women can do in books. It makes a perverse kind of sense to me that they can’t do it on stage as magicians.”
– Ann Patchett
I have to admit I don’t know a thing about magic, but I know a little about writing and a little about bridge, another place where women are said to lack the special something that makes a good bridge player great. Or so it goes. In bridge, many experts assure me, the greatest woman is not as good as the greatest man. Nobody can tell me exactly why it’s so, but I’ve asked many of the game’s great players and only one has disagreed. There’s something about a man that makes him better at bridge.
My friend and teammate Shannon was featured prominently on the BBO news window this morning, did you see? I couldn’t wait to read “Introducing Shannon Cappelletti!” It’s a great piece and I’m so glad they picked the Redmonster.
Since it’s … yanno … all about the patterns, I can’t help but point this out: “It is also a disadvantage being a woman in the bridge world,” Shannon writes, “as the majority of top players are men. So you play the hand you are dealt and make the most of it.” There was, briefly, a follow-up question, but Uday removed it for a rainy day.
More and more I’m convinced that we’re looking at this from the wrong angle. What makes a person capable of commanding the attention and authority of a room (or a bridge table) is, first and foremost, a strong initial belief that it is possible. Confidence is key, of that I am certain. I’m watching this election season (the best of reality TV!) and it occurs to me that if the Blue Candidate had been out there during the prelims going “Man, it’s so hard to be a guy like me running for President,” we’d have That Woman (no, not That Woman. The Mrs.) in his place.
Maybe we won’t know if a woman can pull off card tricks as well as a man until there’s a woman who believes that she absolutely can.
August 16th, 2008 at 8:17 pm
Very perceptive, my dear.
You can’t do it if you think you can’t do it.
August 16th, 2008 at 11:33 pm
I think there is a difference between saying that the greatest man is better than the greatest woman as an observation, and as something that is both true and HAS to be that way.
In my experience, men as a group are better than women as a group. But that may simply be based on the dynamics that attract people to the game.
I have played against a number of women that are truly excellent players - Deas, Cappelletti, Ryman, the Swedish girls to name a few. Are they as good as Meckstroth, Hamman and Rodwell? I am guessing not but then who is?
Your first comment about “pattern recognition” is absolutely correct. There is simply too much to think about in a very short period of time. And so if you have some ability, the more you play the more gets done automatically and the more often you simply know what to do because you have seen the hand before.
But this also assumes that you are either really sharp or getting good advice because otherwise the “pattern recognition” can be building in a mistake which is then to be made again and again.
August 17th, 2008 at 6:05 am
I agree that raw physicality (Michael Phelps) is a determining factor in many sports.
The question is, I suppose, is bridge one of them?
Or, is it more like the practice of magic — where it’s about force of will and success depends, in part, upon one’s ability to perceive the playing field as level?
August 17th, 2008 at 8:50 am
Yes, IMHO, bridge is one of those sports where, on average, if you are one of the elite bridge players, you rate to be male. From all that I have read and observed, males, at the top and bottom of the ability curve, are more male than female. Seems to be tied into hormones and brain development in the womb.
Of course, THAT being said - people seem to make the error of concluding from this that any given woman cannot be as good as any given male at the top. This is not the case; just because the preponderance will be superior does not mean that an individual woman player cannot be elite and excellent.
While I do think that there are some top level female players, and that women can do more to move into the “inner circle” - I doubt that we will ever see more than a small portion of “the best” being female.
While “thinking you can” is a necessary condition to excel - it is not a sufficient condition.
August 17th, 2008 at 8:58 am
Right, I agree wholeheartedly — necessary, but not sufficient.
August 17th, 2008 at 10:14 am
One more item: that expert did give you great advice, Red. One of the fine players with whom I was most fortunate to have as a mentor during my early formative years over and over drilled that into me. “What were you playing for?” he would question - and when I told him, he sometimes would say “and that would give that defender 14 cards.”
DUH! The more you are able to work out the pattern of a hand and what someone can and cannot have, the easier the game becomes.
Well. Perhaps I should have said “less dfficult?”
August 18th, 2008 at 12:29 pm
The percentage of women at each ACBL ranking is higher than for men in all cases through Silver Life Master.
Some examples: LM = 53% are female; Bronze LM = 59%; Silver LM = 55%. (Non-LM ranks show a similar trend, and, in fact, are as high as 68% female.)
Then suddenly at Gold LM, it flip flops. Gold LM (women) = 44%; Diamond LM = 36%; Emerald LM = 31%; Platinum and Grand LM ~22%.
Why this is, I can’t say. My guess is there are lots more than one reason.