A genie appears before you and says you must choose to be very physically attractive, but slightly below average intelligence, or very intelligent, but slightly below average attractiveness? Which would you choose, and why?
Clever but slightly below average attractiveness? Yes, I’ll take that. It would be a double upgrade for me.
Attractive, it’s wild how people are more likely to help you in either small or greater acts or be willing to overlook some of your flaws.
I think I’d rather be smart. I’m honestly often so impressed with beautiful people, because that shit takes work.
I can roll out of bed, pull my three week old sauce stained shirt over my gut, and go do smart shit with a terrible haircut and no one gives a fuck.
Beautiful people will have chosen matching outfits worth thousands, spent an hour on hair and makeup, all after a morning gym session, and they’ll keep that hair perfect all day, getting their spa session in and finding time to do their nails.
How do they even have time to cook a healthy well balanced meal?
I chose Chameleon from the Xanth universe.
Honestly, according to IQ tests, I’m already in the 95th+ percentile for intelligence. I’m also on the autism spectrum, and just got diagnosed with severe ADHD late last year. I’ve accomplished fuck-all by being smart, and it’s mostly made me depressed. I’d pick being slightly dumb, but hot.
What IQ is the 95th percentile?
Edit: huh, if this chart is accurate then I’m in the 99th percentile based on the score I have repeatedly received from multiple tests. This can’t be right. I’m not that smart!
I’m officially in the 99th+ percentile, but IIRC your score gets less accurate the farther you deviate from the mean. And a high reasoning ability is absolutely no predictor of success in life.
Plus, I feel like a douchebag when I say shit like, “oh, my IQ is 140…” as if that’s some kind of achievement or worth something all on it’s own.
Right? I never talk about it unless someone else brings it up first and doesn’t have an embarrassing score. LOL. I have a friend who took the test when we were in high school, and was bragging about how he got a 98. He wasn’t smart enough to realize that’s not a good score. The rest of us were like “oooh, that’s greeeeat!”.
How about slightly below both but with some solid executive functioning and 0 mood disorders? I’ll take that.
Beautiful.
I’ve tried the other way already. Not so good.
So… the genie offers to make me look better by increasing my looks to only slightly below average? Noice!
Lol, nice.
I’m already smart and beautiful.
Isn’t there a genie out there that cures anxiety?
Not really a genie, more of a willo the wisp, but I get it from a bloke called Spider. It’s very more-ish.
My intelligence makes me depressed, so beautiful.
As someone with below average intelligence I can tell you it really doesn’t. Trust me, having a low intelligence doesn’t make your life easier it just makes it harder and puts you at a massive disadvantage. It’s the most soul crushing experience there is. You can become beautiful but intelligence is forever, be thankful for what you’ve got.
If we’re talking 90+ percentile then no question I’d go with smarts and use it to have a big impact on some field of science. Otherwise I’d probably still pick smarts but it’s more of a tossup.
Would I be pretty and daft enough to not overthink and complicate everything and to finally be happy?
Ok then. Let me be a himbo. The ladies may take advantage.
Why so many people think being smart means getting phd’s and good job/money?
Good job, phd’s require discipline not smartness and often being attractive gets you better confidence/charisma, thats far far more important for getting good money or recognition than smartness
Alina Habba is that you?
“I can always fake smart.”
Clearly there are limits to this rule
A good job and a PhD require already having money too. This is why beautiful people on OF keep winning, funding their PhDs
In EU PhDs are always paid and often easier to get into than finding a job (at least right now based on my friend circle)
Wouldn’t smartness imply discipline?
Nope. Some degree for sure, but once you’ve jumped over whatever hurdle you needed to jump, you just rest on your laurels until the next time you need to rise to a challenge, or until you fuse into the furniture.
I am lucky enough to already be both, so I don’t have to choose, thank you very much.
I pick the grilled cheese sandwich.