We have long been told that men and women are the same species. But I have recently begun to doubt the validity of that claim. I mean, that may be true biologically and taxonomically, but by all other standards, you really might want to rethink that conclusion. We’ve all heard sayings like “Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus” – but I hereby contend that the difference, much like the beat, goes on.

And now that I have your attention, let me start like I’ve done in the past, by telling you what this column is not. This isn’t some kind of weird scientology thing, and I have chosen not to consult L. Ron Hubbard for this one.

The basis for this piece is a lot simpler (and quite a bit more believable).

The evidence that has so impacted me is none other than the November issue of Cosmopolitan Magazine. Until recently, I had never actually read an issue, so although I’ve seen it on supermarket displays and the occasional coffee table, I never looked at one until about 2 weeks ago. I’ll probably be asked to turn in my “Manly-Man Club” decoder ring now that I’ve made public my transgression. I guess that’s the price I pay for being a newspaper columnist.

In the first place, my interest was drawn to the publication when I overheard a conversation. Some of the female members of a group I was traveling with were making comments about whether or not the models in the magazine looked normal – whether they were emaciated or healthy.

The first thing I realized was that this was a conversation unlike any you might hear a group of guys having over an issue of Maxim.

So I figured I’d take a look at the magazine and do a little “compare and contrast.” But there was a hell of a lot more “contrast”-ing than “compare”-ing going on.

Coincidentally, the issue happened to contain the 69-page “All About Men” section. The choice of the number of pages dedicated to guys might be an insinuation of something, but I think I’d better leave that one alone. In any event, a good portion of the material could be described as “What men want, by some chick,” to quote an assessment I made after my initial skim through the issue, which meant I got promptly (and repeatedly) slugged by the nearest female.

The fact remains though, that these days women apparently know what men want (especially in bed) better than men do.

Another thing I noticed in this publication was that there was an awful lot of instruction on how to manipulate men. So not only do females come to believe that they know what guys want, they also learn ways to make men believe that too.

One section for example is titled “The Four Sexiest New Guy Styles,” and each of the styles was described along with a portion titled “How to sell your man on this style.”

One section was bluntly called “Manhandling” and gave tips on how to get one’s boyfriend to wear a particular kind of cologne. And of course the unashamed “Wrap him around your finger.” All these are direct quotes from the magazine.

And some of these methods were pure genius, the kind of stuff that makes it clear who’s really in charge in the world. Actually kind of scary in its own way.

I was honestly taken aback by how far removed the tendencies of both sexes are from one another.

So I have come to the conclusion that if men are from Mars, it’s tough to believe that women originate in the same galaxy, let alone the same solar system.

Emeka Anyanwu is a senior in electrical engineering from Ames.