15 ms·

I wish I was a little bit taller

53 points by profstasiak 4y ago

mikrl 4y ago
I wish I was a little bit more able to comfortably sit on an average office chair. I recommend the Haworth Very for taller folks. At the max height my femurs actually sit slightly above the horizontal plane containing my knees so I don’t feel boxed in.
- rahimnathwani 4y ago
  I am a touch above 5'3". I've used a Haworth Very for the past ~5 years. My wife now has one, too. With this chair: - My feet can touch the floor, even without shoes - The armrests can move down to the place where my forearms naturally rest - The armrests can point from my elbows to the front corners of my keyboard - I can sit for long periods without my any discomfort
  - mikrl 4y ago
    Oh that’s really cool! Seems like it’s just a well designed chair for most heights. I agree on all of your points. Bless the designers for saving our back/knees/hips etc!
isthisthingon99 4y ago
wow
rocket_surgeron 4y ago
Tall people die younger, have more joint and back pain, and have trouble finding shirts that fit. See a shirt in a store? On me a L is a belly shirt and an XL is a baggy belly shirt. I’m tall and wish I was average and I’m not even “super tall” just 76”/193cm. I straight up feel sorry for people taller than I. They end up on crutches before dying in their 60s. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1600586/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1600586/
- brink 4y ago
  > See a shirt in a store? On me a L is a belly shirt and an XL is a baggy belly shirt. Seriously, as another skinny-ish tall person, I wish "L-Slim" was a thing. That would be so nice. I'm tired of wearing shirts that are way too wide.
  - junofan 4y ago
    Not sure where you live, but it’s called LT in my region.
    - 83 4y ago
      I'm ideally a medium tall (MT) but that size is a unicorn (doesn't exist). LT sometimes doesn't look too baggy but they're so rare I don't even bother searching for them in most clothes stores. When a store has a big and tall section it's literally big AND tall, not normal and tall. If you are 2m (6'7") tall you better weigh 300lbs if you want a shirt that fits.
      - jessaustin 4y ago
        Is it such a surprise that customization is required to accommodate three standard deviations? People of that height aren't comfortable in every automobile, either. If you're really fishing for tall sympathy on this thread, of all possible threads, you might want to avoid the word "normal"...
      - mesofile 4y ago
        I like TallSlim Tees [0] – pricey for what they are, quality-wise, but for me it's worth it to get a good fit for once. I have a similar build to GP (191cm, ~77kg) and wear a size medium in these. Very nice not needing to clad myself in a billowing sail just so my shirt can reach past my belt [0] https://tallslimtees.com/ https://tallslimtees.com/
  - Arnt 4y ago
    Slim fit. Like these (a german page from the site of a global chain): https://shop.mango.com/de/herren/hemden-slim-fit_c28503139?Sizes=L https://shop.mango.com/de/herren/hemden-slim-fit_c28503139?S... Mediumish quality.
tcfhgj 4y ago
> According to a 2009 study of Australian men, short guys make less money than their taller peers (about $500 a year per inch); are less likely to climb the corporate ladder (according to one survey, the average height of a male Fortune 500 CEO is six feet); and, for the cis and straight among us, have fewer romantic opportunities with women (a 2013 study conducted in the Netherlands found that women were taller than their male partners in just 7.5 percent of cases). I’m five six on a good day, and I’ve found that being short is great for flying economy class—and not much else. Unbelievable :(
- edanm 4y ago
  > (a 2013 study conducted in the Netherlands found that women were taller than their male partners in just 7.5 percent of cases) Don't men also tend to prefer women who are shorter than them? I know I do personally (though my first two girlfriends were taller than me, go figure.)
- o_m 4y ago
  Could be a good investment if you do it while you're young
  - junofan 4y ago
    rhGH seems way better honestly.
    - deleted 4y ago
      [deleted]
    - CoffeeOnWrite 4y ago
      I don’t think it gets the job done as reliably though.
- bitxbitxbitcoin 4y ago
  But they have less cells that could become cancerous?
hitpointdrew 4y ago
"I wish was a baller, I wish I had a girl, if I did I would call her". Sorry first thing that came into mind when reading the title.
- n4bz0r 4y ago
  https://youtube.com/watch?v=ryDOy3AosBw https://youtube.com/watch?v=ryDOy3AosBw
- hackeraccount 4y ago
  You're not the only one.
- mellosouls 4y ago
  That's most likely the intent of the headline, pop references are normal.
- jscipione 4y ago
  “I wish I had a rabbit in a hat with a bat and a six-four Impala.”
  - hitpointdrew 4y ago
    I always heard it, and remember it as "a six-four father", but I looked up the lyrics and the lyrics sites are all saying "Impala", which makes way less sense to me than "Father". Impala like the car? Like the animal? How do either of those help with a height problem? If you had a six-four father however, you would also likely be tall. Which lead me to make this: https://imgflip.com/i/6tigza https://imgflip.com/i/6tigza
    - jscipione 4y ago
      A 1964 Chevrolet Impala is an impressive automobile that may persuade potential mates to overlook ones height deficiency.
omwow 4y ago
I'm trying to be less judgmental, but John Lovedale is pushing me to the limit.
csours 4y ago
I did industrial tech support in an automobile assembly plant. I would get calls to fix something, and I would tell them why it was someone else's responsibility, or I would try to explain something. When I went out to plant floor, it was like my perceived IQ went up by 20 points. Suddenly the things I said made sense. I think most of this effect can be attributed to the fact that I cared enough to show up, and that it's easier to communicate in person. That's most of it, but I'm also a large-ish white male (6 feet tall, 250 pounds at that time) and that physical presence does seem to have an effect on some people. --- It's easy to think that I'm making a moral statement one way or another by what I've said here, but you don't have to think that.
- sshine 4y ago
  > When I went out to plant floor, it was like my perceived IQ went up by 20 points. I thought you were going to conclude that factory workers are dumb, so you appeared relatively smarter. (Before anyone gets upset, I have grandparents who were factory workers; I admire hard work.)
  - csours 4y ago
    There were some really smart people out there working on the assembly line - accountants and other professionals. A lot of people had a second job or owned another business. The job itself is pretty mind-numbing, but if you're on a good team you can have a good time.
- actually_a_dog 4y ago
  You're right about the physical presence thing. I had this conversation with a friend of mine who's a short-ish woman in her early 70s. She's always had big, intimidating-looking dogs, and likes to joke that she "only meets nice people" because of it. :) I mentioned (joked, really) that the way I say safe on the streets is through a combination of maintaining situational awareness, and being a 6' tall white guy. I'm sure there are social effects I don't perceive because I've been tall since I was a teenager. For instance, it's hard to believe that the average Fortune 500 CEO is 6' tall just by coincidence. Height also seems to predict overall financial success in an interesting way: https://news.utexas.edu/2009/12/15/research-shows-height-may-be-predictor-of-financial-success/ https://news.utexas.edu/2009/12/15/research-shows-height-may...
snake_plissken 4y ago
Straight out of GATTACA. I cringed pretty hard when the image at the top loaded; was not expecting this kind of story, was expecting a missive on the song from the 90s. Also, this story reminds me of a passage, among many, from the Deus Ex timeline wiki (https://deusex.fandom.com/wiki/Timeline https://deusex.fandom.com/wiki/Timeline): "Antoine Thisdale, an un-augmented oil rig worker sues for the right to have both of his fully functional natural arms amputated and replaced with cybernetic arms in an effort to compete with mechanically augmented workers in his profession. The Supreme Court rules in his favor, clearing the way for elective augmentation."
- whatshisface 4y ago
  If there was a surgery that made people look white, I wonder how many people would get it.
  - voisin 4y ago
    I have read that there are many things people do in Japan to lighten their skin as this is perceived as more beautiful.
    - isthisthingon99 4y ago
      The reason is that tanned people got tanned because they had to work.
    - blobbers 4y ago
      Can confirm. Used to work on an early version of their "instagram" filters and one of the functions was to whiten skin.
  - teddyh 4y ago
    Ask the star-bellied sneeches.
  - sliken 4y ago
    "Asian blepharoplasty" creates an eyelid crease resulting in a larger and more symmetric, almond-shaped eye is apparently pretty common.
job_suche 4y ago
I am myself quite short (168cm). Growing up I had no insecurities about it, because I only started becoming short after puberty. Anyway, there was a period between ages 21 and 25 when I was obsessed about my height. Natural selection is pretty cruel. If you have good looks do not take them for granted. Now I care less about my height and more about my lack of hair. It is really not healthy to obsess over this stuff. As I said, natural selection is pretty cruel in general, but it is also stochastic in nature. Being short, or bald, is not a death sentence, although it does make things harder. There's one thing I have to say though. If you're successful and you still need to go to such lengths to attract women, you have yourself to blame and not your height.
- abigail95 4y ago
  If you allow me to assume you are male, my quickmafs thinks you're taller than 4/5 women, as opposed to the median male who is taller than 19/20 of women. Do other women want men taller than they are, or do they want men taller than other men? I don't understand the mechanism myself.
  - whatshisface 4y ago
    One time, I found a scatter plot of male and female heights in pairings, and there was a pretty clear drop-off at x=y. If you're really interested, that's the data source you'd want to have. Of course, it wouldn't solve the causal question. Are women rejecting men who are shorter, or are men mentally gear-shifting around people who are taller than them? The latter might sound insulting, but that's actually what you'd want it to be, because then you could overcome it with a really good attitude. If all of the grown up monkeys going around in this world are programmed to let the big monkey do the bossing around, that's something you'd expect to see subconsciously acting on both sides - and you'd be able to deal with half of by yourself.
  - pseudalopex 4y ago
    Some women want men taller than they are with high heels. Some women want men taller than a round number taller than other men.
- 4y ago
teddyh 4y ago
https://dilbert.com/strip/1992-08-27 https://dilbert.com/strip/1992-08-27
onemoresoop 4y ago
At 5'9 Im comfortable with my average height. Sure, had I been taller Id probably be perceived differently but these are things that cannot be changed (till now). Since I'm comfortable with my height I rarely think about this but I'm sure shorter guys may have it more on their mind than I do. Im genuinely curious though, with extending the length of the femur, wouldn't that make the body change proportions? Aren't taller folks consisting of larger/longer bones overall? How would that affect center of mass and balance? I found that confidence can overcome a few inches in height and good communication skills can overcome the advantage taller people have, well, except for dating stuff...
- whatshisface 4y ago
  A lot of those statistics about men being the taller ones in most pairings come from the fact that men are taller than women on average.
  - guskel 4y ago
    But that alone doesn’t explain the full gap. https://familyinequality.wordpress.com/2019/11/06/man-woman-couple-height-updated/ https://familyinequality.wordpress.com/2019/11/06/man-woman-...
  - sshine 4y ago
    This statistic can be true while at the same time, women prefer tall men. To confirm the latter, it is not enough to look at who is the taller in most pairings.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- wrycoder 4y ago
  It is a little annoying to be elbowed in the nose accidentally by my Dutch customers, though. So, I created a joke. “Why are people in the Netherlands so tall?” “Genetic pressure. They have had occasional dike failures over the centuries, and the short ones drowned.”
hprotagonist 4y ago
When i was in elementary school, a classmate had something wrong with the growth plates in his femur, and the solution at the time was to basically do this surgery but at 2mm a week. He spent all of third grade with pins in his left leg and a permanently semi-healing femur that would get cracked open a bit further and a bit further... he missed a LOT of school, because he basically couldn't function for 48 hours after the next increment was done. The alternative was that his left leg would be 8" shorter than his right, so it was probably the right thing to do, but good lord it's not without cost.
whatshisface 4y ago
They could give teens growth hormone instead. I guess now that late adolescent gender transitions are becoming accepted, and since they already give growth hormone to little people, that's the next step.
- n8cpdx 4y ago
  At least according to podcasts, that is done for kids that appear on track to be short. It seems like the people in my SES/field of work trend substantially taller, especially the younger cohort. I’m 1/4” shy of 6’ so it seems strange, but I always assumed it was due to better nutrition. I think a few years less of the pasta-based food pyramid would have made a difference. Or maybe they’re all just getting hormones. https://www.thisamericanlife.org/687/small-things-considered https://www.thisamericanlife.org/687/small-things-considered P.S. if it is ok to give trans kids hormones for gender dysphoria, I don’t see any issues with giving cis kids hormones for dealing with height dysphoria. At least the consequences of HGH are less severe and better understood.
  - gadders 4y ago
    Worked for Lionel Messi: https://bleacherreport.com/articles/1492546-lionel-messi-and-hgh-the-truth-about-the-best-footballer-in-the-world https://bleacherreport.com/articles/1492546-lionel-messi-and...
- xiphias2 4y ago
  Growth hormone has amazing qualities, but as it stimulates the liver to produce IGF-1, it has to be taken together with drugs that deregulate IGF-1 and under supervision. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/acel.13028 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/acel.13028
  - whatshisface 4y ago
    Hopefully nobody would read my comment as a suggestion to start taking it.
avgDev 4y ago
I am 6'4". Flying sucks. Can't fit in a Miata and sports cars suck in general. Showers in hotels suck. Buying T-shirts is annoying. I did have a nice dating life....but I missed out a ton because I was a quite oblivious lol...now I'm married and it doesn't really matter.
- Wohlf 4y ago
  If it makes you feel any better, except for t-shirts all of those still suck at 5'8" just less so.
  - sliken 4y ago
    I was really excited to buy a nissan 300Z years ago. Sat in one and letting out the clutch would cause my knee to smack the steering wheel. It was a deal killer, and I'm 5'11.
trabant00 4y ago
As a well below average height guy who had knee surgery following an ACL tear: no freaking way I would even undergo surgery that wasn't absolutely necessary. Your bones may heal, but what about your muscles and the nerves they touch? Being healthy is way more important than looking good. I have (small) problems even from a routine intervention, I don't even want to know what these experiments yield. And as insensitive as this might sound: get over your god damn insecurities. All the statistics in the world of how much more money tall guys make can't account for individuals, and we all know plenty of short rich business owners and poor big guys working terrible construction jobs or worse. The only real limitation in being short is dating tall women. But guess what, there's plenty things limiting your dating pool: baldness, being fat, facial features, age, social and financial status, etc. Nobody has it all and you will never finish if you go the rabbit whole. You can only end up like those women butchered by too much cosmetic surgery.
jeffrallen 4y ago
This cosmetic surgeon needs a refresher course on the Hippocratic oath.
- onychomys 4y ago
  We've had purely cosmetic surgery for decades. Is this any different than a boob job or lip implants or hair plugs? It's more painful, sure, and irreversible, but is it morally different because of that?
  - bhedgeoser 4y ago
    > but is it morally different because of that? Yes, because it's more painful and irreversible.
    - jessaustin 4y ago
      This sentiment with respect to radical medical transformations is not well received in certain online communities...
      - jeffrallen 4y ago
        I imagine you are taking about gender reassignment surgery. In that case, the patient is seeking help to solve a serious physical and psychological problem for themselves. Leg lengthening does not cross that bar for me, at least not how the motivations of the patients are described in the article. I can easily imagine cosmetic surgery that is ethical, including leg lengthening, but these guys are not it.
        jessaustin 4y ago
        You're making very fine distinctions. Many people will draw the line somewhere else. Our society has drawn the line somewhere else, because this well-known and respected physician makes a good living providing this treatment to satisfied patients. IANATrans person, but I doubt many of them would see a problem here either. In the context of USA health care, invoking Hippocrates on this guy is silly.
bhedgeoser 4y ago
> The effect is like a Grand Theft Auto extra who’s just been sniped in the butt. An example video would help a lot.
sys32768 4y ago
After my divorce, I dove into the hetero online dating community and discovered that many men lie about their height in their online profile. This is more common among men because many women do in fact want a taller man. Similarly, men and women both often lie about their age in order to help their profile sneak around age filters used by others. But the lying about height is pathetic and always backfires, often spectacularly, because the women can tell immediately when the guy shows up three or four inches shorter. So at that stage the problem is lying, not height, and it makes for a very awkward date if the date even continues.
- echelon 4y ago
  Why is it pathetic? Men have a smaller pool to date from unless they get out of the filter bubble. They're wagering they can still win despite the physical statistic. It might create noise on the other end, but they are heavily incentivized to lie.
- whatshisface 4y ago
  I've never used a dating app, but I can only imagine all the women showing up with measuring tapes and the men wearing inconspicuous platform shoes.
- job_suche 4y ago
  If an otherwise great guy, lies to get through your height filter and you go on a date and its great because you get along well. Is then the problem that he lied or his height? If the problem is that he lied, then consider his alternative: never tempting his luck and never getting to know you.
- pseudalopex 4y ago
  > But the lying about height is pathetic and always backfires, often spectacularly, because the women can tell immediately when the guy shows up three or four inches shorter. Most men show up 1 or 2 inches shorter. Even tall men.[1] [1] https://www.gwern.net/docs/psychology/okcupid/thebigliespeopletellinonlinedating.html https://www.gwern.net/docs/psychology/okcupid/thebigliespeop...
imartin2k 4y ago
The kind of article were I had to check whether it was published on April 1. Fascinating and somewhat shocking phenomenon. I was under impression that length would be the only aspect of humans that can’t be altered - turns out that was wrong.
Overtonwindow 4y ago
I'm 6'4 and I wish I were 5'9.. I would fit on airplanes, busses, and even cars better. I could find shoes in my size that did not look as though they were government-issue. Proper fitting slacks.. "Be kind to your knees, you'll miss them when they're gone." -Mary Schmich
- diroussel 4y ago
  5'11" is ideal, taller than average, but not so tall you continually bump your head. Budget airlines are still a bit of a squeeze.
GrinningFool 4y ago
I am 6’2" and wish I was just a little bit shorter. The standard heights and sizes of everything from toilets to countertops to airplane seats simply are not designed for people over 6'.
blobbers 4y ago
I am definitely going to try this! I could go from 5'11" to 6'4"!! That's how you go from middle management to VP!
choletentent 4y ago
Things can always be looked the other way. Being short is an opportunity to play the game in hard mode, showing everyone that you've got skills. Sometimes I wish I was born black for that reason. Well, at least I'm short, happily married, and working on my path to meaningful accomplishments in my career :)

53 points by profstasiak 4y ago

I wish I was a little bit more able to comfortably sit on an average office chair. I recommend the Haworth Very for taller folks. At the max height my femurs actually sit slightly above the horizontal plane containing my knees so I don’t feel boxed in.

rahimnathwani 4y ago
I am a touch above 5'3". I've used a Haworth Very for the past ~5 years. My wife now has one, too. With this chair: - My feet can touch the floor, even without shoes - The armrests can move down to the place where my forearms naturally rest - The armrests can point from my elbows to the front corners of my keyboard - I can sit for long periods without my any discomfort
- mikrl 4y ago
  Oh that’s really cool! Seems like it’s just a well designed chair for most heights. I agree on all of your points. Bless the designers for saving our back/knees/hips etc!

isthisthingon99 4y ago

wow

rocket_surgeron 4y ago

Tall people die younger, have more joint and back pain, and have trouble finding shirts that fit. See a shirt in a store? On me a L is a belly shirt and an XL is a baggy belly shirt. I’m tall and wish I was average and I’m not even “super tall” just 76”/193cm. I straight up feel sorry for people taller than I. They end up on crutches before dying in their 60s. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1600586/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1600586/

brink 4y ago
> See a shirt in a store? On me a L is a belly shirt and an XL is a baggy belly shirt. Seriously, as another skinny-ish tall person, I wish "L-Slim" was a thing. That would be so nice. I'm tired of wearing shirts that are way too wide.
- junofan 4y ago
  Not sure where you live, but it’s called LT in my region.
  - 83 4y ago
    I'm ideally a medium tall (MT) but that size is a unicorn (doesn't exist). LT sometimes doesn't look too baggy but they're so rare I don't even bother searching for them in most clothes stores. When a store has a big and tall section it's literally big AND tall, not normal and tall. If you are 2m (6'7") tall you better weigh 300lbs if you want a shirt that fits.
    - jessaustin 4y ago
      Is it such a surprise that customization is required to accommodate three standard deviations? People of that height aren't comfortable in every automobile, either. If you're really fishing for tall sympathy on this thread, of all possible threads, you might want to avoid the word "normal"...
    - mesofile 4y ago
      I like TallSlim Tees [0] – pricey for what they are, quality-wise, but for me it's worth it to get a good fit for once. I have a similar build to GP (191cm, ~77kg) and wear a size medium in these. Very nice not needing to clad myself in a billowing sail just so my shirt can reach past my belt [0] https://tallslimtees.com/ https://tallslimtees.com/
- Arnt 4y ago
  Slim fit. Like these (a german page from the site of a global chain): https://shop.mango.com/de/herren/hemden-slim-fit_c28503139?Sizes=L https://shop.mango.com/de/herren/hemden-slim-fit_c28503139?S... Mediumish quality.

tcfhgj 4y ago

> According to a 2009 study of Australian men, short guys make less money than their taller peers (about $500 a year per inch); are less likely to climb the corporate ladder (according to one survey, the average height of a male Fortune 500 CEO is six feet); and, for the cis and straight among us, have fewer romantic opportunities with women (a 2013 study conducted in the Netherlands found that women were taller than their male partners in just 7.5 percent of cases). I’m five six on a good day, and I’ve found that being short is great for flying economy class—and not much else. Unbelievable :(

edanm 4y ago
> (a 2013 study conducted in the Netherlands found that women were taller than their male partners in just 7.5 percent of cases) Don't men also tend to prefer women who are shorter than them? I know I do personally (though my first two girlfriends were taller than me, go figure.)
o_m 4y ago
Could be a good investment if you do it while you're young
- junofan 4y ago
  rhGH seems way better honestly.
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
  - CoffeeOnWrite 4y ago
    I don’t think it gets the job done as reliably though.
bitxbitxbitcoin 4y ago
But they have less cells that could become cancerous?

hitpointdrew 4y ago

"I wish was a baller, I wish I had a girl, if I did I would call her". Sorry first thing that came into mind when reading the title.

n4bz0r 4y ago
https://youtube.com/watch?v=ryDOy3AosBw https://youtube.com/watch?v=ryDOy3AosBw
hackeraccount 4y ago
You're not the only one.
mellosouls 4y ago
That's most likely the intent of the headline, pop references are normal.
jscipione 4y ago
“I wish I had a rabbit in a hat with a bat and a six-four Impala.”
- hitpointdrew 4y ago
  I always heard it, and remember it as "a six-four father", but I looked up the lyrics and the lyrics sites are all saying "Impala", which makes way less sense to me than "Father". Impala like the car? Like the animal? How do either of those help with a height problem? If you had a six-four father however, you would also likely be tall. Which lead me to make this: https://imgflip.com/i/6tigza https://imgflip.com/i/6tigza
  - jscipione 4y ago
    A 1964 Chevrolet Impala is an impressive automobile that may persuade potential mates to overlook ones height deficiency.

omwow 4y ago

I'm trying to be less judgmental, but John Lovedale is pushing me to the limit.

csours 4y ago

I did industrial tech support in an automobile assembly plant. I would get calls to fix something, and I would tell them why it was someone else's responsibility, or I would try to explain something. When I went out to plant floor, it was like my perceived IQ went up by 20 points. Suddenly the things I said made sense. I think most of this effect can be attributed to the fact that I cared enough to show up, and that it's easier to communicate in person. That's most of it, but I'm also a large-ish white male (6 feet tall, 250 pounds at that time) and that physical presence does seem to have an effect on some people. --- It's easy to think that I'm making a moral statement one way or another by what I've said here, but you don't have to think that.

sshine 4y ago
> When I went out to plant floor, it was like my perceived IQ went up by 20 points. I thought you were going to conclude that factory workers are dumb, so you appeared relatively smarter. (Before anyone gets upset, I have grandparents who were factory workers; I admire hard work.)
- csours 4y ago
  There were some really smart people out there working on the assembly line - accountants and other professionals. A lot of people had a second job or owned another business. The job itself is pretty mind-numbing, but if you're on a good team you can have a good time.
actually_a_dog 4y ago
You're right about the physical presence thing. I had this conversation with a friend of mine who's a short-ish woman in her early 70s. She's always had big, intimidating-looking dogs, and likes to joke that she "only meets nice people" because of it. :) I mentioned (joked, really) that the way I say safe on the streets is through a combination of maintaining situational awareness, and being a 6' tall white guy. I'm sure there are social effects I don't perceive because I've been tall since I was a teenager. For instance, it's hard to believe that the average Fortune 500 CEO is 6' tall just by coincidence. Height also seems to predict overall financial success in an interesting way: https://news.utexas.edu/2009/12/15/research-shows-height-may-be-predictor-of-financial-success/ https://news.utexas.edu/2009/12/15/research-shows-height-may...

snake_plissken 4y ago

Straight out of GATTACA. I cringed pretty hard when the image at the top loaded; was not expecting this kind of story, was expecting a missive on the song from the 90s. Also, this story reminds me of a passage, among many, from the Deus Ex timeline wiki (https://deusex.fandom.com/wiki/Timeline https://deusex.fandom.com/wiki/Timeline): "Antoine Thisdale, an un-augmented oil rig worker sues for the right to have both of his fully functional natural arms amputated and replaced with cybernetic arms in an effort to compete with mechanically augmented workers in his profession. The Supreme Court rules in his favor, clearing the way for elective augmentation."

whatshisface 4y ago
If there was a surgery that made people look white, I wonder how many people would get it.
- voisin 4y ago
  I have read that there are many things people do in Japan to lighten their skin as this is perceived as more beautiful.
  - isthisthingon99 4y ago
    The reason is that tanned people got tanned because they had to work.
  - blobbers 4y ago
    Can confirm. Used to work on an early version of their "instagram" filters and one of the functions was to whiten skin.
- teddyh 4y ago
  Ask the star-bellied sneeches.
- sliken 4y ago
  "Asian blepharoplasty" creates an eyelid crease resulting in a larger and more symmetric, almond-shaped eye is apparently pretty common.

job_suche 4y ago

I am myself quite short (168cm). Growing up I had no insecurities about it, because I only started becoming short after puberty. Anyway, there was a period between ages 21 and 25 when I was obsessed about my height. Natural selection is pretty cruel. If you have good looks do not take them for granted. Now I care less about my height and more about my lack of hair. It is really not healthy to obsess over this stuff. As I said, natural selection is pretty cruel in general, but it is also stochastic in nature. Being short, or bald, is not a death sentence, although it does make things harder. There's one thing I have to say though. If you're successful and you still need to go to such lengths to attract women, you have yourself to blame and not your height.

abigail95 4y ago
If you allow me to assume you are male, my quickmafs thinks you're taller than 4/5 women, as opposed to the median male who is taller than 19/20 of women. Do other women want men taller than they are, or do they want men taller than other men? I don't understand the mechanism myself.
- whatshisface 4y ago
  One time, I found a scatter plot of male and female heights in pairings, and there was a pretty clear drop-off at x=y. If you're really interested, that's the data source you'd want to have. Of course, it wouldn't solve the causal question. Are women rejecting men who are shorter, or are men mentally gear-shifting around people who are taller than them? The latter might sound insulting, but that's actually what you'd want it to be, because then you could overcome it with a really good attitude. If all of the grown up monkeys going around in this world are programmed to let the big monkey do the bossing around, that's something you'd expect to see subconsciously acting on both sides - and you'd be able to deal with half of by yourself.
- pseudalopex 4y ago
  Some women want men taller than they are with high heels. Some women want men taller than a round number taller than other men.
4y ago

teddyh 4y ago

https://dilbert.com/strip/1992-08-27 https://dilbert.com/strip/1992-08-27

onemoresoop 4y ago

At 5'9 Im comfortable with my average height. Sure, had I been taller Id probably be perceived differently but these are things that cannot be changed (till now). Since I'm comfortable with my height I rarely think about this but I'm sure shorter guys may have it more on their mind than I do. Im genuinely curious though, with extending the length of the femur, wouldn't that make the body change proportions? Aren't taller folks consisting of larger/longer bones overall? How would that affect center of mass and balance? I found that confidence can overcome a few inches in height and good communication skills can overcome the advantage taller people have, well, except for dating stuff...

whatshisface 4y ago
A lot of those statistics about men being the taller ones in most pairings come from the fact that men are taller than women on average.
- guskel 4y ago
  But that alone doesn’t explain the full gap. https://familyinequality.wordpress.com/2019/11/06/man-woman-couple-height-updated/ https://familyinequality.wordpress.com/2019/11/06/man-woman-...
- sshine 4y ago
  This statistic can be true while at the same time, women prefer tall men. To confirm the latter, it is not enough to look at who is the taller in most pairings.
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wrycoder 4y ago
It is a little annoying to be elbowed in the nose accidentally by my Dutch customers, though. So, I created a joke. “Why are people in the Netherlands so tall?” “Genetic pressure. They have had occasional dike failures over the centuries, and the short ones drowned.”

hprotagonist 4y ago

When i was in elementary school, a classmate had something wrong with the growth plates in his femur, and the solution at the time was to basically do this surgery but at 2mm a week. He spent all of third grade with pins in his left leg and a permanently semi-healing femur that would get cracked open a bit further and a bit further... he missed a LOT of school, because he basically couldn't function for 48 hours after the next increment was done. The alternative was that his left leg would be 8" shorter than his right, so it was probably the right thing to do, but good lord it's not without cost.

whatshisface 4y ago

They could give teens growth hormone instead. I guess now that late adolescent gender transitions are becoming accepted, and since they already give growth hormone to little people, that's the next step.

n8cpdx 4y ago
At least according to podcasts, that is done for kids that appear on track to be short. It seems like the people in my SES/field of work trend substantially taller, especially the younger cohort. I’m 1/4” shy of 6’ so it seems strange, but I always assumed it was due to better nutrition. I think a few years less of the pasta-based food pyramid would have made a difference. Or maybe they’re all just getting hormones. https://www.thisamericanlife.org/687/small-things-considered https://www.thisamericanlife.org/687/small-things-considered P.S. if it is ok to give trans kids hormones for gender dysphoria, I don’t see any issues with giving cis kids hormones for dealing with height dysphoria. At least the consequences of HGH are less severe and better understood.
- gadders 4y ago
  Worked for Lionel Messi: https://bleacherreport.com/articles/1492546-lionel-messi-and-hgh-the-truth-about-the-best-footballer-in-the-world https://bleacherreport.com/articles/1492546-lionel-messi-and...
xiphias2 4y ago
Growth hormone has amazing qualities, but as it stimulates the liver to produce IGF-1, it has to be taken together with drugs that deregulate IGF-1 and under supervision. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/acel.13028 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/acel.13028
- whatshisface 4y ago
  Hopefully nobody would read my comment as a suggestion to start taking it.

avgDev 4y ago

I am 6'4". Flying sucks. Can't fit in a Miata and sports cars suck in general. Showers in hotels suck. Buying T-shirts is annoying. I did have a nice dating life....but I missed out a ton because I was a quite oblivious lol...now I'm married and it doesn't really matter.

Wohlf 4y ago
If it makes you feel any better, except for t-shirts all of those still suck at 5'8" just less so.
- sliken 4y ago
  I was really excited to buy a nissan 300Z years ago. Sat in one and letting out the clutch would cause my knee to smack the steering wheel. It was a deal killer, and I'm 5'11.

trabant00 4y ago

As a well below average height guy who had knee surgery following an ACL tear: no freaking way I would even undergo surgery that wasn't absolutely necessary. Your bones may heal, but what about your muscles and the nerves they touch? Being healthy is way more important than looking good. I have (small) problems even from a routine intervention, I don't even want to know what these experiments yield. And as insensitive as this might sound: get over your god damn insecurities. All the statistics in the world of how much more money tall guys make can't account for individuals, and we all know plenty of short rich business owners and poor big guys working terrible construction jobs or worse. The only real limitation in being short is dating tall women. But guess what, there's plenty things limiting your dating pool: baldness, being fat, facial features, age, social and financial status, etc. Nobody has it all and you will never finish if you go the rabbit whole. You can only end up like those women butchered by too much cosmetic surgery.

jeffrallen 4y ago

This cosmetic surgeon needs a refresher course on the Hippocratic oath.

onychomys 4y ago
We've had purely cosmetic surgery for decades. Is this any different than a boob job or lip implants or hair plugs? It's more painful, sure, and irreversible, but is it morally different because of that?
- bhedgeoser 4y ago
  > but is it morally different because of that? Yes, because it's more painful and irreversible.
  - jessaustin 4y ago
    This sentiment with respect to radical medical transformations is not well received in certain online communities...
    - jeffrallen 4y ago
      I imagine you are taking about gender reassignment surgery. In that case, the patient is seeking help to solve a serious physical and psychological problem for themselves. Leg lengthening does not cross that bar for me, at least not how the motivations of the patients are described in the article. I can easily imagine cosmetic surgery that is ethical, including leg lengthening, but these guys are not it.
      - jessaustin 4y ago
        You're making very fine distinctions. Many people will draw the line somewhere else. Our society has drawn the line somewhere else, because this well-known and respected physician makes a good living providing this treatment to satisfied patients. IANATrans person, but I doubt many of them would see a problem here either. In the context of USA health care, invoking Hippocrates on this guy is silly.

bhedgeoser 4y ago

> The effect is like a Grand Theft Auto extra who’s just been sniped in the butt. An example video would help a lot.

sys32768 4y ago

After my divorce, I dove into the hetero online dating community and discovered that many men lie about their height in their online profile. This is more common among men because many women do in fact want a taller man. Similarly, men and women both often lie about their age in order to help their profile sneak around age filters used by others. But the lying about height is pathetic and always backfires, often spectacularly, because the women can tell immediately when the guy shows up three or four inches shorter. So at that stage the problem is lying, not height, and it makes for a very awkward date if the date even continues.

echelon 4y ago
Why is it pathetic? Men have a smaller pool to date from unless they get out of the filter bubble. They're wagering they can still win despite the physical statistic. It might create noise on the other end, but they are heavily incentivized to lie.
whatshisface 4y ago
I've never used a dating app, but I can only imagine all the women showing up with measuring tapes and the men wearing inconspicuous platform shoes.
job_suche 4y ago
If an otherwise great guy, lies to get through your height filter and you go on a date and its great because you get along well. Is then the problem that he lied or his height? If the problem is that he lied, then consider his alternative: never tempting his luck and never getting to know you.
pseudalopex 4y ago
> But the lying about height is pathetic and always backfires, often spectacularly, because the women can tell immediately when the guy shows up three or four inches shorter. Most men show up 1 or 2 inches shorter. Even tall men.[1] [1] https://www.gwern.net/docs/psychology/okcupid/thebigliespeopletellinonlinedating.html https://www.gwern.net/docs/psychology/okcupid/thebigliespeop...

imartin2k 4y ago

The kind of article were I had to check whether it was published on April 1. Fascinating and somewhat shocking phenomenon. I was under impression that length would be the only aspect of humans that can’t be altered - turns out that was wrong.

Overtonwindow 4y ago

I'm 6'4 and I wish I were 5'9.. I would fit on airplanes, busses, and even cars better. I could find shoes in my size that did not look as though they were government-issue. Proper fitting slacks.. "Be kind to your knees, you'll miss them when they're gone." -Mary Schmich

diroussel 4y ago
5'11" is ideal, taller than average, but not so tall you continually bump your head. Budget airlines are still a bit of a squeeze.

GrinningFool 4y ago

I am 6’2" and wish I was just a little bit shorter. The standard heights and sizes of everything from toilets to countertops to airplane seats simply are not designed for people over 6'.

blobbers 4y ago

I am definitely going to try this! I could go from 5'11" to 6'4"!! That's how you go from middle management to VP!

choletentent 4y ago

Things can always be looked the other way. Being short is an opportunity to play the game in hard mode, showing everyone that you've got skills. Sometimes I wish I was born black for that reason. Well, at least I'm short, happily married, and working on my path to meaningful accomplishments in my career :)