4 ms·

Kind of agree. There are definite obvious advantages in certain physical characteristics. But it’s trivial to overshadow those with either a. being really go

Kind of agree. There are definite obvious advantages in certain physical characteristics. But it’s trivial to overshadow those with either a. being really good at what you do b. Being socially approachable c. Deft at playing the political game

lotsofpulp 4y ago
If you have to be 99.9999th percentile at what you “do” to overshadow those, how trivial is it? I do not foresee a future where an American political party nominates a 5ft3in (1.6m) man as a Presidential, or even Senate candidate. Similar for playing professional level sports, or lead actor in movies.
- matwood 4y ago
  Tom Cruise is listed as 5'7" - he's probably a bit shorter. Sports will lean towards whatever physical characteristics benefits the sport.
  - lotsofpulp 4y ago
    Tom Cruise is 60 years old and got famous during a time a when average height for upper socioeconomic classes was lower. Is there any example more recent than him? If he was auditioning for his roles today, I doubt he gets them. Especially because actresses are nowadays just as tall or taller with heels, why bother having to do all the work to make the actor look a little taller than the actress, when you can just hire another actor. >Sports will lean towards whatever physical characteristics benefits the sport. Of course, but in many popular sports, being taller and bigger makes you so much faster and stronger such that if you are first percentile in size, no realistic amount of talent will give you an advantage.
    - matwood 4y ago
      I mentioned Tom Cruise because he's one of the biggest action/movie stars ever. We don't really have actors with that much pull anymore, and it's why I didn't mention someone like Kevin Hart or Jessie Eisenburgh or one of the Francos (I forget which). Someone like Robert Downey Jr. is ~5'9". Sure, he's older, but also the lead in some of the biggest action movies in history. For sports, I think it's better to look at the reverse. Not every 7' person makes it to the NBA or is even good at basketball. But, there are plenty of relatively smaller players in the NBA who do well and some are even super stars. The classic example was Mugsy Bogues, but Steph Curry is 6'2" in sport where height is so important. Pick a sport where height isn't necessarily a dominating factor like the NHL and there are plenty of players under 6'.
      - lotsofpulp 4y ago
        There are players under 6ft, but not 5ft 3in players. It is not a hard cutoff, but the probability of success with a certain height can decrease exponentially as height decreases. Kevin Hart is not a leading actor either, he is the comic relief. In the movies I have seen, Dwayne Johnson is the lead actor. For example, Kevin Hart would not be Captain America, or even Black Panther. In fact, I think one of the Captain America movies showed the guy being short before he was enhanced and turned into Captain America. You would not be able to sell a 5ft 3in actor as the fantasy escape for who people who want to fantasize about who they could be or the leader they would have.

lotsofpulp 4y ago

If you have to be 99.9999th percentile at what you “do” to overshadow those, how trivial is it? I do not foresee a future where an American political party nominates a 5ft3in (1.6m) man as a Presidential, or even Senate candidate. Similar for playing professional level sports, or lead actor in movies.

matwood 4y ago
Tom Cruise is listed as 5'7" - he's probably a bit shorter. Sports will lean towards whatever physical characteristics benefits the sport.
- lotsofpulp 4y ago
  Tom Cruise is 60 years old and got famous during a time a when average height for upper socioeconomic classes was lower. Is there any example more recent than him? If he was auditioning for his roles today, I doubt he gets them. Especially because actresses are nowadays just as tall or taller with heels, why bother having to do all the work to make the actor look a little taller than the actress, when you can just hire another actor. >Sports will lean towards whatever physical characteristics benefits the sport. Of course, but in many popular sports, being taller and bigger makes you so much faster and stronger such that if you are first percentile in size, no realistic amount of talent will give you an advantage.
  - matwood 4y ago
    I mentioned Tom Cruise because he's one of the biggest action/movie stars ever. We don't really have actors with that much pull anymore, and it's why I didn't mention someone like Kevin Hart or Jessie Eisenburgh or one of the Francos (I forget which). Someone like Robert Downey Jr. is ~5'9". Sure, he's older, but also the lead in some of the biggest action movies in history. For sports, I think it's better to look at the reverse. Not every 7' person makes it to the NBA or is even good at basketball. But, there are plenty of relatively smaller players in the NBA who do well and some are even super stars. The classic example was Mugsy Bogues, but Steph Curry is 6'2" in sport where height is so important. Pick a sport where height isn't necessarily a dominating factor like the NHL and there are plenty of players under 6'.
    - lotsofpulp 4y ago
      There are players under 6ft, but not 5ft 3in players. It is not a hard cutoff, but the probability of success with a certain height can decrease exponentially as height decreases. Kevin Hart is not a leading actor either, he is the comic relief. In the movies I have seen, Dwayne Johnson is the lead actor. For example, Kevin Hart would not be Captain America, or even Black Panther. In fact, I think one of the Captain America movies showed the guy being short before he was enhanced and turned into Captain America. You would not be able to sell a 5ft 3in actor as the fantasy escape for who people who want to fantasize about who they could be or the leader they would have.