would you rather be good looking or smart?

[vash]

i was just asked this...funny responses from my coworkers.

when i mean good looking, really good looking...abs, 7%body fat, hair, the whole enchilada. but on the flip side you are dumb as a box of rocks. i mean you think powell is president, dumb.

and the flip side, if you choose smart, genious levels with a good personality. not poindexter nerd smart. musical gifts included, multi-linquistics. one smart mother effer! but your looks make the dogs wince. bad teeth, fat, pasty skin, balding, acne...


which do you choose?

[legion]

Smart....then I could scam the rich airheads!

[Mike(dat's me)]

Smart - make tons of money... get the hottie anyways.

[widebody911]

I've been both for so long, I don't know how I'd choose...

[lendaddy]

hmm I would imagine life is as simple as you are. That being said, it's a tough call. I mean being "pretty" is just the icing, the true joy is being too stupid to worry about X. Now that would be priceless.

[RickM]

Originally posted by vash
i was just asked this...funny responses from my coworkers.

when i mean good looking, really good looking...abs, 7%body fat, hair, the whole enchilada. but on the flip side you are dumb as a box of rocks. i mean you think powell is president, dumb.

and the flip side, if you choose smart, genious levels with a good personality. not poindexter nerd smart. musical gifts included, multi-linquistics. one smart mother effer! but your looks make the dogs wince. bad teeth, fat, pasty skin, balding, acne...


which do you choose?

Hmmm.......Bill gates.....mmmmm...or....uhmmmm...Jessica Simpson.

[targa911S]

I'm both ..it's all good.

[bryanthompson]

It's what's on the inside that matters...

[targa911S]

That would be blood and guts.

[Burnin' oil]

Neither. YES! My wish has been granted.

[Tim Walsh]

smart, As I'm wayy too far into the geek realm I'd much rather be smart than good looking.

[Z-man]

What about having a great personality?!?

[speeder]

That's a funny question; neither is a good option IMO. Life is not fair, of course, but you have actually touched on a serious subject that has been studied by academics. People who possess good looks have an undeniable advantage in life, from the time they are small children. Studies show that kindergarden teachers percieve them as smarter and having other favorable traits, (whether they actually are or not), and the "extra points awarded" continues through life.

If someone is woefully deficient in some other catagory, (like your examples), the advantage of being beautiful or brilliant would be somewhat cancelled out. A more realistic scenario is someone who is average in one of the areas and exceptional in the other.

My Mom always used the example of her sister, (a great beauty when young apparently), as someone who never fully developed her other talents because it was too easy to just get by on, or be rewarded for her looks. These people can have problems later on in life when their looks inevitably fade, and their shallow mate trades them in on a newer model. Ain't life a biatch?

I'd personally take being extremely creative and resourceful, w/ a naturally positive attitude and the luck of good health to being extremely brilliant or good looking. My brother is "off the scale" brilliant, but he is also a positive person or it would all be for nought.

Being frightfully homely or stupid would suck, just be grateful for whatever you were given. If you own a Porsche and have a roof over your head, you're ahead of the game most likely.

[Overpaid Slacker]

Smart lasts a lot longer than Hot, and you can get Smarter as you age, whereas you get less Hot as time passes.

Having said that, however, there would be a great relief to be as dumb as a box of hammers... you wouldn't know you're dumb, you'd have no idea of your own manifest limitations. Ignorance is bliss and all. It'd be liberating in a way, and if you were serious, model-hot you could live a pretty comfortable life. BUT, you'd probably fall for the vapid, self-indulgent treacle of the Barbra Streisands and limousine liberals ...

Smart. Definitely smart. Make my millions and get plastic surgery if need be.

JP

[speeder]

Originally posted by Overpaid Slacker
Smart lasts a lot longer than Hot, and you can get Smarter as you age, whereas you get less Hot as time passes.

JP

Yup, and as my Dad used to say, "you can drink 'em pretty, but it's real hard to drink 'em smart"....

[RANDY P]

Good looking is a biach sometimes. Trust me on this

[cowtown]

Originally posted by lendaddy
the true joy is being too stupid to worry about X.

That is so true. I have met a few people who are just not too bright, and they tend to be really happy. They are absolutely carefree, or just place their faith in the Lord (and nothing else) etc. It must be quite liberating.

(I don't mean to sound judgemental, I'm just sayin').

[tabs]

Uhhhhh...I'm both stupid and ugly.....

[Overpaid Slacker]

Don't forget "heavy" tabs, as long as we're making a list and all.

JP

*and YOU brought this up today in response to Moses' "what do I wear" thread...

[smoak]

What if your just big boned?