Beauty vs. Intelligence

[Liquid Blue]

I saw this on another forum and although I think the OP's response to his own question was off, I decided to bring the question over here-

Instead we're here to discuss something that Dr. House brought up in the very first episode. For those of you unfamiliar with the show, I'll elaborate. In this episode, the subject of WHY the three doctors that work under House were selected out of all the top level candidates. The female doctor confronts House about this near the end of the episode. For Foreman, House hired him due to his street smarts(read: he had a juvenile record). For Chase, it was simply because his father made a phone call. And for Cameron (the female doctor), it was, as House puts it "because you are extremely pretty". Expectedly, she takes great offense to this. Which brings us to my topic. House's rebuttal to her offense is "you would prefer that I hired you for your gift of intelligence vs. your gift of beauty?"

Which makes me think. There is nothing you can do about either your "beauty" or your "intelligence". Yes, you can make yourself look better with surgery and makeup. And yes, you can make yourself smarter by studying. But that doesn't REALLY change anything. The raw material is still the way it is. You don't become more intelligent, and there's only so much surgery can do to make beauty.

And yet, the value we place on both of them is completely different. Oh make no mistake, they're both valued traits. Everyone loves a pretty girl, and everyone wants to hire the intelligent man. But if the pretty girl tries to go through life on her beauty, she'll be berated and looked down upon. She (or he) will be looked down upon as wasted potential or "just a bimbo".

Why is this? Is it becase beauty is easier to lose? After all, everyone ages. But it's not as though Intelligence is immune this either. I'm sure you're all familiar witht the concept of being Senile. Alhzheimer's is another example. Contrary to what seems to be popular belief, Intelligence is not much less fleeting than beauty. Is it because Intelligence has more practical value? Maybe, but this ignores the benefits of beauty. Beauty is physically and mentally pleasing. It calms the mind and relaxes you. Why else would people decorate their homes with what is supposed to be beautiful and pleasing to the eye. There IS real value in beauty, though it isn't as direct.

What do you think? As usual for "ol' LB", my response was like 5 paragraphs- so I'd like to see your thoughts before I post mine here.

[Ignominy]

Simple:
Hating beauty is for ugly people. Hating intelligence is for dumb people. Use what you have to get ahead. If you feel like it.

[Ignominy]

Also, hating me is for uncool people.

[Suh]

could argue that beauty isnt truely earned while intelligence is (at least formal qualifications), noone dare throw genetics in my face, i will beat you down.

[!cER]

The main difference between the two, is how conspicuous they are. Beauty can be plainly seen and judged merely by looking at person, whereas intelligence cannot. Both you are born with, and cannot be altered drastically (sorry Suzie :P), however the appearance of either can be attained relatively easily. Neither are 'earned' in my opinion.

I don't think society looks upon the two traits very differently, I can't recall anyone I know calling Kate Moss a bimbo. Intelligence does have slightly better longevity then Beauty but either can be better maintained by the person by treating their body/mind well. Fortunately what we lose in these skills in made up for in experience, which is why wages tend to increase with age.

I don't think people decorate their homes because it is pleasing to the eye and mentally soothing either (in general). It will depend on person to person but I think most people like to be reminded of their success and also so they can feel proud of this thing they call home, make it more personal to them.

Cameron should have replied to House that he should have hired whoever best suited the role of the job, irregardless of appearance or intelligence, as neither gift defines the ability of the doctor (After all you wouldn't want Einstein diagnosing you would you?). She doesn't seem to be very good at dealing with House's remarks.

Oh and House is an amazing TV program...everyone should watch it. Gotta love Hugh Laurie.

[Lethe]

Idiots are easy to spot.

[Pandagirl!]

I'd rather be intelligent than beautiful. I'll admit - I was a pretty ugly kid, haha. But I was really smart. Sure I wish I could be pretty like the popular girls, but I know that later in life I'll be raking in the big bucks while they're going to be prostitutes or something like that. Ok maybe not prostitutes, but I'd rather be with a guy that likes me for who I am, not what I look like.

So sure, if I was beautiful I would have the upper hand as a teen, but later in life the smart people win.

[Squeezer]

I'd rather be beautiful than smart.

To be ignorant of the goings on of the world, but to still reap it's benifits sounds like the closest slice of heaven I could find in this world.

[Sarien]

So sure, if I was beautiful I would have the upper hand as a teen, but later in life the smart people win.

Right, because nobody smart has ever had a life of mostly pain and loss, and nobody beautiful has ever had a life of mostly success and joy.


Here's what I'd rather be: Not Naive.

[Pandagirl!]

Well yea I used a bit of a generalization there - but I'm saying that smart people have more potential for success.

[Squeezer]

Well yea I used a bit of a generalization there - but I'm saying that smart people have more potential for success.

not in a society as vain as ours.

When was the last time a nobel prize winner beat out Tom Cruise at the tabloids?

[Ignominy]

it's benifits

Step one.

[Liquid Blue]

sadface

My reply from earlier~

Well if you want to talk about the most-desired traits for men and women, you're going to have to look at their roles in society and what is ingrained in our behaviors and actions when looking for mates.

Beauty is a gift that is usually sought out in concern to women. That's not a sexist idea Imoto, it's just life. When males look for a mate, regardless of the species, they look for a female with the highest chance of producing healthy offspring. In our case, guys look for women with the utmost of feminine features- a "healthy" pair of breasts, wide hips, nice legs, a pretty face, what is most attractive varies from guy to guy but they all have the same underlying reasons. Healthy breasts or wide hips in terms of the woman being able to safely produce children/feed them, nice legs in terms of how fit the women is, and a pretty face implying good genes.

In terms of procreation, it's most beneficial for a man to impregnate multiple women, pass on his dna to as many "hosts" as possible in order to ensure the survival of his genetic line. While beauty is a heavy factor when he's choosing these mates, being able to move from one female to the next makes beauty less of an important factor on his part. Women on the other hand, need to find a healthy male and have a stable protector to raise their children- thus she has to stay beautiful in order to keep the male around/ snag the best male of the pack.


Intelligence is not exactly what I would say is a priority for men. Survivability is more important. Being able to spread your seed, and defend it/ your home ground if necessary. Protecting one's interests is done in a variety of ways, including intelligence. It's an important factor yes, but not the make or break "gift" that men and women focus on more. In order to land a mate, men need to either show females that they have genes worth passing on, or be able to acquire stability and use that as an attractive selling point.

Genes worth passing on include physical and social traits- Broad shoulders, masculine facial features, strong body, etc etc in terms of the physical. For social, being able to communicate well (life of the party), taking care of any dangers/dangerous situations (protector), confidence in one's abilities, that sort of thing. You basically have to show that you are a strong male that isn't afraid of danger and/or willing to provide for/protect his offspring.

Intelligence may be used by those who don't have inherent outstanding physical traits, guys who use their other abilities to "survive" and show others that they can take care of their own. Stock-brokers, lawyers, doctors, businessmen, there are numerous jobs filled with those who still present "alpha-male" traits via their intelligence.

There are cases of men and women having their cake and eating it too, aka women getting knocked up by a male with physical prowess and having the child raised by a wealthy, stable doctor. Men banging multiple women, having multiple children and eventually shacking down with some chick. The point is, this "game" was decided long before we were born, it's been in our DNA for too long to stop it now. Beauty and Intelligence might be important factors, but I think the Dr. House was just picking people so he could work with their strengths, which is what everyone should do. Focus on your strengths.

my reply seems really boring and long now, sadface

Sarien the Human Zoo should be arriving at my house next week

[Liquid Blue]

compact version of sadface

I noticed he replied and his afterthoughts are much more direct:

*me rambling*

That wasn't really my intention, it's simply easier for me to say pretty girl and intelligent man because I want to account for both genders, but find the concept of calling men pretty a little odd. Not that it doesn't exists, it's just not part of my natural vocabulary.

D) What I was really trying to get at (though considering I was posting from a hospital at 2 in the morning, I may not have been that clear), was the differences in the treatment that USING said gifts brings. Intelligence may go unappreciated. It doesn't always work out. But if it DOES work out, the individual is praised for thier efforts and abilities. Beauty is much more easily appreciated. And can get you far fairly easily if you possess it and are willing to use it. But if someone DOES use it, then they're looked down upon for getting ahead using their looks.

I find your response to be quite interesting LB, because it's so utterly dismissive of intelligence. There is a massive focus on the physical, but the intelligence trait is just seen as a bonus or compensetory. I agree that you can't be sickly, but in a more natural world, you wouldn't survive very long without intelligence either.

*my reply--v*

This makes more sense and I can understand what you were going at then. While I agree with you, I actually think beauty will result in jealous people looking down upon you no matter what, so you might as well go with it.

When taking Beauty and how people are treated into consideration, I think the physical aspect plays a much greater role. People get their first impression of you in about 7-10 seconds after meeting/seeing you, and alot of that is instinctual - not to mention there are rare occasions where you can positively display your intelligence in such a short amount of time.

[!cER]

I'd rather be beautiful than smart.

To be ignorant of the goings on of the world, but to still reap it's benifits sounds like the closest slice of heaven I could find in this world.

Very wise words. but we all just have to play the hand we are dealt.

This whole idea reminds me of the film Forest Gump. A man who isn't particularly beautiful, and certainly not intelligent, yet he leads a magnificent life. Obviously being a film things are exaggerated, but it is a nice sentiment that it doesn't much matter of what you have, it is what you do with it that counts.