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PaperclipPerfector  5d ago (text post)   2785 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for February 15, 2026

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

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Is the gender difference in reaction speed sufficient to explain the absence of professional female LoL players?

Tried to determine this but having a hard time finding both (1) the breadth in reaction speed among top LoL players, and (2) the actual difference among top reaction speeds by gender.

I doubt anyone has tested reaction speeds specifically for LOL, but it's well-established that there are significant differences in reaction speeds between the sexes, and I don't see why that wouldn't hold here.

https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2006-03906-007

There are significant sex differences, most notably for choice RT variability.

I don't have full access, but theh found males had faster reaction times at all ages, with the sex difference relatively stable across adulthood. Other research suggests a 15-30ms gap, which all but precludes women in the highest echelons of twitch-reaction games.

Theoretically it’s possible that the difference disappears in the highest percentiles, and that top performers differ in more than 30ms. But sadly I can’t find anything about this.

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