Explanation of the Hot/Not Pre-Med Threads?

[Iridium]

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I was amazed by the bile and intensity in the various Pre-Med Attractiveness discussion, and I had sort of an idea why it may have occured. Feel free to shoot down the theory, but I feel that for me it explains why there is so much argument over this:

People tend to see intelligence and beauty as a zero-sum game (i.e. when one is gained, the other is lost in the same amount). Why do people say this? I believe it is because it helps to justify some of the jealous we all have (whether we'd like to believe it or not).

When I sit in my Orgo class and see some kid demolish the curve with an obscenely high mark (and let me know about it... thanks by the way!!!), I gain relief by saying "He's smart... but look at that nose/chest/belly/etc!!!" Why? It makes me feel better about pulling in another exam grade that starts with a 6. Also, when I watch TV, and see some gorgeous man/woman openly flaunt his/her beauty and wealth (like Paris Hilton), I say to myself "Sure she's beautiful, however how can she have any mental satisfaction in her life." Why? It makes me feel better.

When someone breaks that zero-sum game by being gorgeous and intelligent, that's when I (and I think many other people) start to boggle out. What can we do? They top us in 2 of the main categories for people to judge how we are (some others would be personality and money). We lose the ability to drag someone below us when we are seen as inferior.

Guys and girls become uncomfortable with someone who is gorgeous and intelligent because it leads to questions like: How come they are blessed this much? What have they done that I haven't?

So when someone says "Pre-med's can't be attractive cause they're smart." and then someone replies that "I have a 4.0 GPA and was selected as Miss Lichenstein so kiss it!", people start to get defensive over their theories...

Any comments?

~Iridium

P.S. I have now decided that I have too much time on my hands =)

 

[hamhamfan]

I am a hot premed

 

[umass rower]

Although I am embroiled in the controversy, I don't hold to any pet theories, I'm just making observations. If someone came on and said "I have a 4.0 GPA and was selected as Miss Lichenstein," I would only have one thing to say:

How you doin'? 🙂

 

[nascentdoc]

Being good looking does not necessarily mean ugly. It may be the case many, many times but not always. For instance (this has nothing to do with pre-med or med) Brad Pitt is drop dead gorgious and he's intelligent. Did anyone see him in Troy? My God, that man is hot.

 

[CalBeE]

Being good looking does not necessarily mean ugly. It may be the case many, many times but not always. For instance (this has nothing to do with pre-med or med) Brad Pitt is drop dead gorgious and he's intelligent. Did anyone see him in Troy? My God, that man is hot.

well but he left nothing for the ladies' imagination a few years back in Playgirl or something.

 

[principessa]

People tend to see intelligence and beauty as a zero-sum game (i.e. when one is gained, the other is lost in the same amount).

Are you a physics and/or math major? My bf is both, and he's been known to use game theory analogies to describe personal qualities. Just curious - not many people know about the zero-sum game.

 

[TiggidyTooth]

Are you a physics and/or math major? My bf is both, and he's been known to use game theory analogies to describe personal qualities. Just curious - not many people know about the zero-sum game.

The idea of proposing that when one is hot, he or she is dumb is absolutely ridiculous. People aren't consiously making a decision to give up looks in order to be hot so game theory cannot apply because it is based on the principal of decision making. Natural selection would be much more adequate in correlating the 2. I actually read a study a long time ago that concluded that intelligence and beauty had a significant correlation. Martha Stewart was a model for goodness sakes!!

Tooth

 

[coffeeluver]

Martha Stewart was a model for goodness sakes!!

Tooth

Just because someone was a model does not mean they're good-looking. What kind of model was she? a hand model? 😀 Anywho, she's not good-looking IMO.

 

[willthatsall]

Just curious - not many people know about the zero-sum game.

Actually I think pretty much everyone knows about the zero-sum game in some capacity. It was even explained in "A Beautiful Mind" if I'm not mistaken.

 

[jeremyh42]

So this thread got me thinking back to years ago when I was watching that show "20/20" and their guy with the mustache, John Stossel or something like that. They did this "controlled" study where elementary school kids were read the same story by two different women, one attractive, and the other not-so-hot. When the kids were asked who they liked better between the two, they all said "the pretty lady"
When asked why they liked her better, they mostly replied that they thought she was nicer and smarter... goes to show that even at a young age, we're already biased when it comes to looks

I've always seen it this way, and if we're going to look at game theory, let's get serious about this. Set up a 2x2 matrix with one axis being hot/not-hot, and the other smart/not-smart. Obviously I'm oversimplifying, but for the sake of argument, people can be categorized into one of four categories:
smart/hot, smart/not-hot, not-smart/hot, not-smart/not-hot
Now, I'm sure we'd all agree that smart/hot would be preferred, but I can see that plenty of SDNers would be quite satisfied with not-smart/hot. Now let's assume that all SDNers can be categorized as smart (I know, not everyone will agree with me here, but bear with me) By that definition, not-smart/not-hot will not be desired (but if you were really drunk, I understand )
Everyone is looking to get the most they can with what they have going for themselves, so it seems to me that some sort of equilibrium will be established between beauty and brains within a relationship- i.e. a very smart but relatively unattractive guy might be able to get a dumb model, or a moderately smart, moderately attractive girl could land a moderately smart, moderately attractive guy.
Either way, human beings seem to place higher priority upon looks than brains when finding a mate. Now this makes sense if you're familiar with selfish gene theory and the idea that what really matters in the long run is whether the bodies and minds that our genes help us to develop allow us to find someone who is attractive enough to create children with us who will be attractive enough to follow the same pattern, and etc.
So to get back to what I started with, even if it isn't fair to the not-hot, we're programmed to want to be with attractive people, and we're going to prefer them to unattractive people. Attractive people get a great deal more postitive reenforcement, even at a very young age, and that will make a difference in their overall opportunities in life. I'm just glad that I'm headed to USC, where the people overall seem to be both smart and hot! 😀

 

[TiggidyTooth]

Just because someone was a model does not mean they're good-looking. What kind of model was she? a hand model? 😀 Anywho, she's not good-looking IMO.

Coffeeluver, your complete lack of rationality and ignorance has not yet ceased to amaze me. She was actually a super model (by today's standard's) back in like the 60's and 70's modeling for top designers. After modeling she pursued finance where she began to mass her millions and then her career took off. Remember, she is like 60 years old so her beauty has faded with time as will yours.

Tooth

 

[PeruvianDoctor]

Why are some of us blessed and some not? Lots of us wonder these things on lonely sleepless nights. All I can say is that if your a doctor, you'll get a descent looking woman($$$) no matter how much you resemble the kid from the mask (that Cher movie). And if your a good looking doctor you will get the cream of the crop. So for all you lepers out there, a look in the mirror should be more motivation than any Kaplan, Princeton, and EK course can provide!!

 

[coffeeluver]

Remember, she is like 60 years old so her beauty has faded with time as will yours.

Tooth

So will yours...get ready to kiss whatever hair you have left on your head good-bye...

 

[CeLo]

I think so many of these post are popping up because it is the end of the application cycle and people are bored. The waitlists are not really moving yet, so people are trying to distract themselves from the tedium of waiting. Right now I'd rather read a hot-or-not thread than one about which school someone wants to apply to!

 

[skiz knot]

I'm ugly and stupid 🙁

 

[TiggidyTooth]

I'm ugly and stupid 🙁

The world needs ditch diggers too. 🙂

Tooth