Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Being Really, Really, Ridiculously Good Looking

blog.priceonomics.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

141–148 of 148 posts

Re: Being Really, Really, Ridiculously Good Looking

#141

Post by cscurmudgeon »

argonaut wrote: post #127
cscurmudgeon wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The question to ask is this: How much does beauty correlate with strength, health, intelligence, conscientiousness, honesty etc. If the correlation is high, then maybe judging others on beauty is something that can be justified under time and resource constraints everything else being the same... http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/explainer/2... Here the data were less clear, but several reviews of the…

The article does cover the fact that children who are more attractive are given more attention, and that teachers pay more attention to those children, which may very well explain the effect.

That does not say much. It raises more questions:

1. How much of intelligence is inherited? I am not up to date on this, but I remember that researchers don't have a consensus on this. Also, once you are an adult does G get fixed?

2. Teachers also pay more attention to intelligent, hardworking and industrious students.

Also, grown up intelligent people are usually better at taking care of themselves and end up looking better than others. Of course, this is just one factor.

Re: Being Really, Really, Ridiculously Good Looking

#142

Post by ahoyhere »

epsylon wrote: post #131
ahoyhere wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Out of shape people give me hell all the time for being in excellent physical condition, but they don't know about the 10 miles of running every day My major exertion this week was going to the doctor. I rode in a car, walked 20 ft, sat on a chair, talked, rode home, and had to go lie down and take medicine. As my doctor remarked, "You look grey." Because I have a chronic illness and nobody is sure what exactly it…

You should put things back into context, because I don't think the parent poster targeted you specifically; most obese people aren't obese because of chronic illnesses but because of lifestyle choices (most of the time, having been fed and addicted to unhealthy food since childhood; thus the lifestyle choice might as well be blamed unto parenting shortcomings, which could be blamed their onto poverty and lack of sani…

Some of the most prominent researchers in the US believe that 40-60% of Americans suffer from hypothyroid, possibly in combination with syndrome x. Both of which cruelly cause weight gain AND reduce energy/ability to exercise. That percentage would have to include "most obese people" -- heck, most people, period!

The thing with these 2 issues (hypo/syndrome x) is they are both a cause and a symptom. You can't tell who did what to themselves tabula rasa, or what was done to them (as you point out) by genetics, by childhood, by an environment laden with adrenogenic/estrogenic chemicals, etc. A parent's poor diet changes the expression of genes which can have effects on their children; the additives in food today can have toxic consequences and the food is engineered to be addictive. Sure, personal responsibility. But most people aren't smart enough, or educated enough, or well-positioned enough to fight all the odds against them. And doctors, in my experience, are worse than useless.

Re: Being Really, Really, Ridiculously Good Looking

#143

Post by rprospero »

beachstartup wrote: post #74
rprospero wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Another way of incorporating this is with the classic "Never trust a man in a suit" We know that we give extra weight to the arguments of good looking individuals. Guys in suits generally look better than guys in sweatpants. Therefore, if a guy in a suit tells you something, it's not really as good of an idea as you think it is. He's also not as competent or hard working as you think he is. To combat this, you should…

no, to combat this, you need to wear a nicer suit. if you are in a room full of suits and you are wearing casual clothes, you better own the fucking company or nobody is going to listen to a damn thing you're saying. the suit makes others, and yourself more authoritative, even to yourself . this is a highly social activity/phenomenon you're describing, you can't just power through and ignore it because you know how c…

I'm sorry. I guess that I didn't make myself clear. I meant that distrusting people in suits should be used along side wearing one. You're absolutely right that this is a universal social bias that you can't erase simply through an act of will. Everyone will judge you on your appearance and you need act accordingly. However, if you don't try to overcome your own bias, you're ignoring people for no good reason.

To put it differently, the first lesson you should learn from Monster Cable is that, with proper marketing, you can get people to pay $60 for a $1 cable. However, the second lesson you shouldn't buy Monster Cable.

Re: Being Really, Really, Ridiculously Good Looking

#144

Post by gwern »

lutusp wrote: post #107
irishcoffee wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Better idea: Lets tax everyone who gives tall people advantages. The tall person didn't choose to be tall. Their parents didn't have a say in the matter either. Shall we tax them for making a tall heir? You know who had a say in tall people having "advantages"? Everyone who gives them said advantage. Tax them.

With all respect, bad idea. The next logical step would be the ability to choose any arbitrary trait to punish for producing an unfair advantage, like being smart (an overrated trait in many circumstances). Abraham Lincoln was both tall and smart -- such a program would have ruined him. :) Also, ideas like this only add to the power of governments. I think most people will argue there should be a limit to governmenta…

> being smart (an overrated trait in many circumstances).

I disagree, the advantages of being smart appear in an astounding number of contexts, from making a lot more money than everyone else to living longer to having better teeth etc (and yes, most of the many IQ correlations survive after conditioning on the obvious stuff).

The real issue here is that intelligence correlates with income to such a degree that progressive income taxation (very common) may already be playing this role.

Re: Being Really, Really, Ridiculously Good Looking

#145

Post by enraged_camel »

bjourne wrote: post #135
acconrad wrote: post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

First of all you're feeding into your confirmation bias just like the article points out - if you think you're ugly, you're going to believe you're ugly and feed into that negative self image. Second of all, and most importantly, there is much that can be done with regards to improving appearances. If you don't believe me - just search for "models with and without makeup" on Google. The fact is that even the stereoty…

Male beauty is mostly about height which one has little control over. E.g. if op is 5 feet, follows all your advice and looks like Brad Pitt in Fight Club, he will still not be more beautiful than someone who is 6 feet and does not follow it.

Height is important, but so is having a lean and muscular figure. And the latter is something the person definitely has control over.

Re: Being Really, Really, Ridiculously Good Looking

#146

Post by Kudzu_Bob »

mikecane wrote: post #139
Kudzu_Bob wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Men's hormonal buttons are being pushed by images of hot women in order to empty their wallets, and you think it's the women who are being exploited. That's rich.

Argue with Gloria Steinem, who was once a Playboy bunny. http://www.gloriasteinem.com/updates/2011/8/22/i-was-a-playb...

Gloria Steinem's career arc has been from B-girl to intellectual pickpocket.

Re: Being Really, Really, Ridiculously Good Looking

#147

Post by ahoyhere »

gregpilling wrote: post #111
ahoyhere wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Out of shape people give me hell all the time for being in excellent physical condition, but they don't know about the 10 miles of running every day My major exertion this week was going to the doctor. I rode in a car, walked 20 ft, sat on a chair, talked, rode home, and had to go lie down and take medicine. As my doctor remarked, "You look grey." Because I have a chronic illness and nobody is sure what exactly it…

I can relate.. I also have a chronic illness, with the gloriously vague name of fibromyalgia. I have had doctors tell me there was nothing wrong with me, accuse me of being a drug addict, lazy, etc etc. What fun. Have spent since 2008 doing my own research (with generous amounts of help from my wife and friends). I have discovered that I am in a club that I don't want to be in, the chronic pain and fatigue club. I ha…

Yes, I have fibromyalgia too. I consider it a non-diagnosis (like chronic fatigue syndrome, which may or may not be the same thing, but which I (also?) have). It doesn't tell you causes it or how to get better, or what it really is. So.

On most days, I'm much better than I described above. What really helped me is the protocol in the book _From Fatigued to Fantastic_. If you haven't read it, haven't tried his approach to fixing sleep and other imbalances, I CANNOT ENCOURAGE YOU MORE to check it out. The trazodone alone changed my life. Plus the magnesium, the B vitamin supplements, (sometimes) the adrenal supplements, heavily supplementing electrolytes with electrolyte pills (that's my addition)… these took me from being non-functional, unable to discuss facts or details or make decisions, or go further than the sofa, to being able to go out, see people, do things (with limits).

This week I've started naturthroid to support my normal-testing thyroid. So far it seems to be working. I have hope that it will stop the "crashing."

Hope you feel better.

Re: Being Really, Really, Ridiculously Good Looking

#148

Post by argonaut »

cscurmudgeon wrote: post #141
argonaut wrote: post #127

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The article does cover the fact that children who are more attractive are given more attention, and that teachers pay more attention to those children, which may very well explain the effect.

That does not say much. It raises more questions: 1. How much of intelligence is inherited? I am not up to date on this, but I remember that researchers don't have a consensus on this. Also, once you are an adult does G get fixed? 2. Teachers also pay more attention to intelligent, hardworking and industrious students. Also, grown up intelligent people are usually better at taking care of themselves and end up lookin…

Simply put, babies fixate on more symmetrical faces. It is not difficult to deduce that teachers would give more attention to more attractive students, all else being equal.
Post reply on HN