Who Is Smarter?

I find myself one day talking with a great friend who is a male college graduate in his late thirties and considers himself the smartest man alive. I accidently leave my keys locked up in my car and he quickly remarks "and all because you were born a girl!" Could he possibly be insinuating that something like this happens because I have a female brain? I am not very good with comebacks so all I can think of saying is "yes, and you are my knight in shining armor so get my keys!" The textbook on Psychological Biology very interestingly explains that the male brain is relatively larger than the female brain but it also recognizes that studies have shown the brain size is due to the higher amount of grey matter in the male brain. I can accept this as a fact and not feel disadvantaged because my male friend's brain has more grey matter than mine. Although, I must admit that this does make me wonder if maybe this contributes in some way to a person’s intelligence. The book gives an example of boys being better than girls at playing chess. The research on this topic shows that one reason why boys could be better is because they show interest in the game and play more frequently than girls. If we were to assume that the size of our brain is an indicator of our “smartness”, then what role would our interests and special abilities play? Scores on IQ tests have also proved that both men and women are about equal in intellect, but let’s say that a test to fix a car motor was applied instead? I imagine it would give a totally different result since a lot of women are not very interested in learning about this subject. All of this leads me to another question. Could the changes in generations also contribute to these differences among males and females? In the past almost all women dedicated themselves to the daily chores of their homes, tend to the needs of the children and husband, very rarely to their personal interests.  An article posted on ABC News titled “Women Beat Men on IQ Tests for First Time” makes me think that maybe the changes in opportunity and education have proven beneficial since recent studies show women scoring up to a point higher on IQ tests than their male counterparts.  This does not in any way make me feel that I am smarter than anyone else but I will admit it does give me a sense of encouragement and a lot to think about.