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Imagine a world where professional sports teams recruit the least talented players, and companies seek out the bottom of the class engineers, while everyone che

Imagine a world where professional sports teams recruit the least talented players, and companies seek out the bottom of the class engineers, while everyone cheers how outstandingly ugly the models are because advertisers only want the most ugly to represent them, above the noise of the least gifted warbler singing on the radio. There are many ways to be outstanding, why should the pursuit of the outstanding in some areas be any less socially acceptable than in other areas?

scarmig 13y ago
Because a job where you sit in front of a computer all day doesn't require you to not have acne or be taller than 5'2 (if you're a guy) or whatever. I'm sure there's some model with epicycles and epicycles of logic explaining how having prettier programmers (or whatever) make all the programmers they see over the water cooler more productive. But there'd have to be actual evidence of that.
- Kudzu_Bob 13y ago
  A reporter once asked the Italian giallo director Dario Argento why so many beautiful girls are murdered in his movies. He replied that the dictates of the giallo require that one or more persons die, and that the audience would rather watch beautiful girls being killed than ugly ones.
- etvmueller 13y ago
  With regard to the theory that attractive workers make other workers more productive, I do not know if that is true and I am not arguing it. And I also would not argue that sitting in front of a computer all day requires you to have acne or be less than 5'2". If you had to hire one of two people, both equally qualified except that one was much more physically attractive, which would you hire ( in a vacuum where there is no legal oversight )? We are encouraged to accommodate differences to such a degree that I am concerned that we reflexively penalize representatives of the ideal, in favor of representatives of ever greater divergence from the ideal, and to what purpose? If we cannot help being born who we are then some will just be more attractive than others. Rather than letting them coast through life on their looks, we should be encouraging them to develop their other abilities. Perfect facial symmetry for example may indicate a beautiful mind.
bitwize 13y ago
above the noise of the least gifted warbler singing on the radio. So, Katy Perry exists in this alternate universe as well?
- etvmueller 13y ago
  Yes, I agree that there is a serious problem with mass entertainment. I was making an example and wanted to include something from the arts. I have some experience with music entertainment and concede that the best are not necessarily represented among the most successful.

scarmig 13y ago

Because a job where you sit in front of a computer all day doesn't require you to not have acne or be taller than 5'2 (if you're a guy) or whatever. I'm sure there's some model with epicycles and epicycles of logic explaining how having prettier programmers (or whatever) make all the programmers they see over the water cooler more productive. But there'd have to be actual evidence of that.

Kudzu_Bob 13y ago
A reporter once asked the Italian giallo director Dario Argento why so many beautiful girls are murdered in his movies. He replied that the dictates of the giallo require that one or more persons die, and that the audience would rather watch beautiful girls being killed than ugly ones.
etvmueller 13y ago
With regard to the theory that attractive workers make other workers more productive, I do not know if that is true and I am not arguing it. And I also would not argue that sitting in front of a computer all day requires you to have acne or be less than 5'2". If you had to hire one of two people, both equally qualified except that one was much more physically attractive, which would you hire ( in a vacuum where there is no legal oversight )? We are encouraged to accommodate differences to such a degree that I am concerned that we reflexively penalize representatives of the ideal, in favor of representatives of ever greater divergence from the ideal, and to what purpose? If we cannot help being born who we are then some will just be more attractive than others. Rather than letting them coast through life on their looks, we should be encouraging them to develop their other abilities. Perfect facial symmetry for example may indicate a beautiful mind.

bitwize 13y ago

above the noise of the least gifted warbler singing on the radio. So, Katy Perry exists in this alternate universe as well?

etvmueller 13y ago
Yes, I agree that there is a serious problem with mass entertainment. I was making an example and wanted to include something from the arts. I have some experience with music entertainment and concede that the best are not necessarily represented among the most successful.