Prefer to be beautiful to having brains?

[charlmarascoxo]

I was asked - would you rather be beautiful and have below average intelligence or would be rather be clever and be dull looking/plain jane.

I went with beauty.

It seems to me that in society having beauty is quite highly valued and life is perhaps easier because you are more accepted. Most people however chose brains over beauty. So perhaps I am in the minority?

I'd go for beauty, I'm not stunning but with a touch of makeup I'm pretty. I'm also have post graduate qualifications but find that playing on "dizzy blonde" generally gets me things cheaper and easier, particularly things in a male environment like getting my car fixed more cheaply/ for free. Yeah this probably goes against feminist principles but if my looks can get me what I need and for a better price why not!! My DP is also impressed at my skills in flirting/playing dumb to get what I need. Ps I have also been given a job on the grounds that I'm pretty so yeah I'd say looks

Depressing that it's seen as an either / or situation. Brains or beauty...

Personally, I don't think either beauty in and of itself, nor brains in and of themselves is the answer.

To me, the ideal is:

• accessibly good looking; not beautiful
• intelligent but not genius levels
• a cracking sense of humour
• emotional intelligence/naturally kind and empathetic
• a healthy self-esteem and confidence in your own place in the world...

... is the best route to happiness and fulfilment. Not too much to ask for. :) That combo is most likely to win friends and attract nice, kind, decent partners.

Definitely brains.

My neighbour was a very successful model in the 50s & 60s, I've seen photos & she was stunning. Losing her looks in her 70s was something she found almost unbearable & of course she wasn't really unattractive in her 70s, the difference between her & other women became less marked. She had been able to get away with poor behavior when she was young as she was so beautiful and this meant she had fewer social skills than other women her age.

Brains every time for me & my daughters please.

Brains are actually until dementia hits.

Kelpeed I don't have to. I'm both super handsome and have a whopper of a brain. And modesty by the bucketload.

Brains every time!

i'm surprised how many people equate intelligence with earnings, ime the two aren't as closely linked as you might imagine.

Sparklesandglitter, that's just depressing.

I am both, me.

I'm striking looking and quite clever. A woman at work stopped me the other day and said she was jealous of me as I had it all.

I don't. I an rubbish at small talk and social niceties. But most importantly to me, I'm infertile.

So it's not just brains or beauty.

Having said that, I would take brains anytime.

Without brains you'd not only be missing out on jobs and life opportunities, but also appreciation of art, literature, philosophy and all different types of learning. You'd be condemned to a lifetime of soaps, X factor and Nethuns.

I'm intrigued by Binks' comments. Surely not all super clever types are tortured by their intelligence. Not being one, I'm afraid I can't comment from a personal experience, but I do know some talented academic types, who seem to be happy.

It's not necessarily the brains that are the problem - it's the hyper-awareness that comes with it. Too much thinking can make for crushing social awkwardness.

My experience of my looks is similar to hotcup's. I get things without having to try. For example, in a restaurant, I know my order will be written down correctly because I know the waiter has given me his full attention.

It does sound horribly conceited, especially because I didn't ask for it or work for it. I was allocated a symmetrical face with tidy features and clear skin. That's not fair. But it's an easy pass in life. Children like me, strangers trust me. It has opened doors for me... When I was younger and plain, I was scared all the time that people wouldn't like me, that I'd never be accepted. Now I know they will.

That's only my experience though. I think it's estimable to pick brains. Maybe I'm a coward for choosing beauty.

Depends.

If by ugly you mean hunchback of notre dame then i'm going with beauty because i'd have such low self esteem I would have no quailty of life so the brains wouldn't be put to much use. If you mean basically average, just not stunning then i'm going for brains.

I'd rather have brains anyway because looks fade and most people take brains seriously whereas beautiful but brainless get basically laughed at. But I just wouldn't take brains if I was ugly to the point of no return.

I think I have both, and reap the benefits of both, but unfortunately I am not a very happy person.

Binks - nail on head there. The hyper awareness is the killer.

And Mardy, all the happy academics I know are clever but not super intelligent. Those that are super intelligent pretty much all have crippling doubts and social issues, although interestingly, the really super intelligent tend not to become academics. Make of that what you will.

Mankind cannot bear much reality.

You dont know how your looks benefit you until they go. I was always regarded as a hot ticket until through stress and pcos and neglect, somehow put on six stone in a year and it was incredible how invisible i suddenly became. To man and beast. I lost the weight equally quickly, but this time I ignore all the attention because I truly see looks for what they are. Decoration.

Depends by how you define "society".

In a job interview, one brainy person with stunning looks may do better than an equally stunning person with a face like a gorilla, but a third person with no brains wouldn't have been qualified to apply for the job in the first place.

There are very few careers which depend on looks alone: even models need a certain amount of nous to stay afloat in the industry.

You can always make yourself more intelligent but you cant make yourself more beautiful.

I think you can learn stuff but you can't make yourself more intelligent dinky

And whilst you might not be able to make yourself more beautiful, with grooming you can make yourself more attractive.

I agree with Binks, it was what I was trying to get at with my post earlier. (Though she's touched on the hyper-awareness that comes with being too intelligent, and I think this is a real issue as well.)

However, because the beauty mentioned in the OP comes with less-than-average intelligence, I don't think it would be worth it to me. You wouldn't know when you were being used, you wouldn't know how to make the most of your looks.

binks and wild. Tbh I don't really know what I'm talking about as I don't have anywhere near that level of intelligence to have a hyper awareness issue.

I would choose intelligence over beauty, but not the super intelligence of the small % of people right at the top of the scale.

Since we're making hypothetical choices here, I'd like to be able to choose "happiness" as my super-gifted ability.
I'd rather be one of those people who are able to be happy in all circumstances and don't fret or get angry or frustrated or bitter or anxious over the hiccups of life.

That, over brains and beauty, please.

I'm in shock - I'm forever getting flamed for judgmental posts and threads but this one has skimmed along for 175 posts without anyone thinking this is a rather dodgy topic and just accepting it at face value? Where are all the sanctimonious folk I always encounter preaching about everyone being beautiful and clever and how dare anyone judge anyone else on these things

I'd say intelligence everytime as it is real, beauty is superficial. But like everyone else posting here, I'm probably saying that because I'm average looking and of above average intelligence. You dance with the girl you can with, IYSWIM.