10 fascinating facts about beauty:

Dear Son
I hope the math exam went well.
here's something on the side to think about. People keep on saying that beauty is only skin deep but frankly we are all victims of our own upbringing and senses. Given a choice, a good looking person will always win over somebody who isn't that good looking, other things being equal. That's a D'oh statement but its important to recognise this. From both your incoming and outgoing perspectives. How you react to beautiful people will be important for you. Try to delve underneath that beauty, son. Not saying that its a factor, but beautiful people can make you forget to judge properly. So you might agree on a deal with a good looking person whereas the deal might not really be good enough. Why do you think most of the sales are done by beautiful women and men? they are the attractors, they attract people who then forget to judge other elements such as price or quality or delivery times or what have you.
The second element is how you appear to others, your business people, your friends, etc. etc. I am not saying that you have to become a metrosexual and primp and preen to be beautiful, but a certain element of smartness and well put togetherness is required. Smartly shined shoes, sharp haircut, no straggly beard, good body posture, etc. etc. will help. Your skin colour is obviously a handicap to a certain extent but that cant be helped. So always be on the lookout to ensure that your business and social dealings are handled on the basis that somebody better looking than you can have an advantage over you. You are quite handsome and smart, I have to admit and I am not saying that because you are my son. Well, perhaps I am, but still, have this in the back of your mind, your reactions to beauty and others reactions to your beauty are going to be a factor in your life, son.

And remember the old quote, “people say beauty is only skin deep, its deep enough, what do you want? An adorable pancreas?”

Love
Baba

10 fascinating facts about beauty:
via Barking up the wrong tree on 9/22/11

HNR has a well researched piece about attractiveness. Ten points worth noting:

• On measures of affect and mood, physically attractive people score higher than less physically attractive people.
• People perceive physically attractive people as smarter, more successful, more sociable, more dominant, sexually warmer, mentally healthier and higher in self-esteem than their physically unattractive counterparts. While this 'beauty is good' effect is moderately strong, studies show that attractive people are neither more nor less intelligent than less attractive people.
• Physically attractive people are more relaxed and socially adept and less socially anxious and lonely than less physically attractive people.
• We are more likely to divulge personal information about ourselves to physically attractive people than we are to divulge less physically attractive people.
• We are more likely to help a physically attractive person than we are a physically unattractive person.
• If we are presented with a group of people and asked to use non-physical cues to identify who has psychopathology, we are more likely identify physically unattractive people as we are to identify more physically attractive people.
• Physically attractive people with psychological disturbance are judged to be more maladjusted and to have a poorer prognosis than less physically attractive people with the same psychological disturbance.
• A physically attractive person charged with the same crime as a less attractive person is more likely to be found not guilty of that crime. Physically attractive individuals found guilty of a particular crime are more likely to receive more lenient sentences than less attractive defendants. In court cases in which the crime is sex-related, physically unattractive defendants are considered to be more dangerous than better-looking offenders. This effect is often independent of the actual grooming or attire of the defendant.
• Good-looking faces trigger the same kinds of brain networks that are activated when people become addicted to cocaine and gambling.
• There appears to be a universal, cross-cultural undesirability for people with facial disfigurements and other flaws. Even babies seem to prefer physically attractive faces to physically unattractive ones.