Recently I read a book on the human brain, which included quite a bit on differences between men and women. (Sorry I can't remember the author or title.) It was a recent publication from the New Books section of my library.

The book said that women consistently notice more of the things going on around them than men do. Men tend to concentrate more on one thing. This is certainly true for me. For me, music going on in a store while I'm trying to calculate prices or plan menus is a distraction and an irritation. I cannot "shut it out" even though I would like to.

I'm sure that the woman who wants to talk to her friends during her lunch hour does not want a recording yammering over her head. The same woman might go to a concert by the same singer and have a good time. But that's because she chose the band she wanted and because she's not having to do something else at the same time.