Years ago, I read about a study that has stuck with me. Middle school children were given a scenario: Your mother is very ill and needs medicine, but you don’t have enough money. What do you do? Most of the boys responded that they would steal the medicine while most of the girls responded that they would approach the pharmacist to make an arrangement to work off or pay for the medicine in installments. The male response was praised for its efficiency, and the female response was dismissed for its passivity. The lesson was that guys get things done, no matter the method. For the boys, the ends justify the means. For the girls, the ends are the means.
-- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
