4 ms·
Previous discussion about the same effect in the legal system: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24044409 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24044409 Pers
by 1996 6y ago
Previous discussion about the same effect in the legal system: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24044409 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24044409
Personally, I find it very surprising most hackers have such a disdain for physical beauty, given the huge ROI for every $ invested - reportedly about 1,000x for Elon Musk personal worth.
Still, only a few CEO seems to have taken action to maximize their appearance, and mostly against their premature baldness. Even that is kind of taboo - while studying before an interview is not, even if it will certainly have a much lower ROI.
Why not hack your appearance?
There are many scientific studies documenting all that, but we ignore them. For an example of all the known variables, check for ex table 1 of the following for "Zero-order Pearson’s correlations between facial appearance and health, with the corresponding p-values and sample sizes":
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5290736/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5290736/
If you want more example for a given variable, for example the effect of adiposity (we know it's quadratic), read one of the original papers:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6308207/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6308207/
All this is well known now, as the first study was about 22 years ago:
Perrett, D. I., Lee, K. J., Penton-Voak, I., Rowland, D., Yoshikawa, S., Burt, D. M., … Akamatsu, S. (1998). Effects of sexual dimorphism on facial attractiveness. Nature, 394(6696), 884–887. doi:10.1038/29772
So why do we keep ignoring it, while focusing on other signals like which search engine (or operating systen) you use?
- eastendguy 6y ago> reportedly about 1,000x for Elon Musk personal worth. Where does this number come from?
- TechBro8615 6y agoPretty sure he’s comparing Elon’s net worth before and after getting hair transplants. That’s a pretty ridiculous claim at best.
- elil17 6y agoWell I for one think no one would be using PayPal if Elon didn't have those luscious locks.
- viraptor 6y agoIs it disdain or lack of interest in concentrating on appearance? I mean, what's the end goal? If i want success and you give me a choice of "improve what you do" or "improve what you look like" for the same result, I'll take the first one every time. If that pushes some people away, that's gain x2 - improvement and I know that people around me care on a deeper level than a lie of appearance (it will go away with time anyway).
- 1996 6y ago> I mean, what's the end goal? Maximize profits! > If i want success and you give me a choice of "improve what you do" or "improve what you look like" for the same result, I'll take the first one every time. In doing so, you are then neglecting the diminishing marginal returns: spend say the equivalent of 1 month or time (or earning from your work) on learning 10 times in a row will yield less than doing that 9 times + improving your appearance once (or twice, you get the idea...) > I know that people around me care on a deeper level than a lie of appearance You THINK you know. The studies in law, in resident selection in medicine, etc. seem to prove you wrong - unless you believe hackers are very different from doctors and lawyers at an essential level
- viraptor 6y agoI'm not saying they don't care about appearance at all - we all do to some extent. Just that I don't see alienating people who care about appearance enough that it overrides your other achievements as a negative outcome.