ITV- Beautiful scientists may draw a crowd but are seen as less academically able than their less attractive colleagues, researchers in Cambridge have found.
It is thought the good looks of former musician and TV physicist Brian Cox and anatomy expert Alice Roberts may have played a big part in their roles as science communicators.
But, if the results of a study by psychologists at Cambridge University are to be believed, neither are rated as highly competent scientists by members of the public.
Lead researcher Dr Will Skylark, from the Department of Psychology, said he wanted to find out what impact good looks had on the perception of scientists.
“Given the importance of science to issues that could have a major impact on society, such as climate change, food sustainability and vaccinations, scientists are increasingly required to engage with the public.
“We know from studies showing that political success can be predicted from facial appearance, that people can be influenced by how someone looks rather than, necessarily, what they say. We wanted to see if this was true for scientists.”
– Dr Will Skylark, University of Cambridge.
In the first of a series of trials, volunteers were shown photos of more than 300 British and American scientists and asked to rate them for intelligence and attractiveness.
Other groups of participants then indicated how keen they would be to know more about what each scientist did, and whether they thought the academics were likely to be carrying out accurate and important research.
People were more interested in learning about the work of scientists who were seen as physically attractive and who appeared “competent and moral”.
But when it came to judging scientific ability, having an attractive face counted against the researchers. The better looking and more sociable they were perceived to be, the less they were expected to be conducting high-quality research.
That is about the warmest take ever to come out of the science world. Hey smart guy, no shit we don’t take hot scientist as seriously. Next you’re gonna tell me a new study was conducted only to find out scientist aren’t funny. Its as clear as day.
Here’s the scenario, you tell me the we’re all going to die unless we do so and so.
You can tell me the first person to die on earth is my mother and the thing is my first reaction would be me wondering what it would be like to cum on your glasses and what it’s like to motor boat your T’s. And this is the same for hot scientist bros too. Real like Brad Pitt scientist from World War Z can tell a chick there’s no hope and that she’s gonna turn into a zombie and the fact of the matter is the first thing on her mind is that she want’s to ride you.
I’ve said it before when writing the review for Arrival. Jeremy Renner just isn’t a scientist. Not a real one at least. They don’t have time to get hair cuts when they’re busy studying dirt. Scientist if anything eat junk food, stare at computer screens and microscopes until their eyes bleed and see the opposite sex as coworkers only. That’s how life works. It creates a fair balance. You think I can compete with a guy who’s 6’3 muscular, and knows how to cure aids? Fuck no. Pound for pound Stephen Hawking can probably create a black hole in his office but I think i could make a girl laugh, if not, at least go with her for a charming little walk in the park and talk about real life things. That’s the trade off. You can be smart and a nerd and save the world, but you can’t be hot also. You can be a 6’3 quarter back that has talent and makes money, but you’re also probably a dummy meat head and can’t deal with real life stuff because you have agents and managers handle things for you. If you’re a hot scientist, you’re probably not smart enough to particle accelerate atoms and shit. Balance.
The Ugly Orange 