# Are people that are "stupid looking" really stupid? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 19, 2005, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-people-that-are-stupid-looking-really-stupid/313207 "2005-07-19T23:16:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Padeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@Padeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Padeye)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2005, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-people-that-are-stupid-looking-really-stupid/313207/21 "2005-07-20T12:16:06Z")
> [@Qadgop the Mercotan](#): > > I’ve known many rather ugly people who were quite bright. Ugly looking != stupid looking. I think we have identified a few elements of the stupid look but all of our evidence is anecdotal so any conclusions are going to be pretty shaky. A recent cow-orker of mine, a doughy faced mouth breather, gave me the impression he wasn’t very bright. He was in fact quite intelligent but his appearance fooled me. He turned out to be a arrogant, kvetching (sp?) prick which I would not have pegged him on just by appearance. ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2005, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-people-that-are-stupid-looking-really-stupid/313207/22 "2005-07-20T12:37:27Z")
> [@Argent Towers](#): > > My best friend has an elaborate theory that peoples’ faces actually do reflect their personalities, because certain muscles in your face get worked out and more defined over time depending on what sort of facial expression you have most often, and therefore after a while, your face will take on the characteristics of your mood. By this logic, someone who spends a lot of time with their jaw hanging open in an expression of dumbfounded bewilderment will eventually look like the slack-jawed dumbass (Napoleon Dynamite comes to mind.) By the same token, someone who has a peacable and good-natured personality will often look that way simply because they spend a lot of time with their eyes wide open and their mouth in a smile and generally take on that apearance. And someone who’s pissed off all the time will wear a constant scowl by the time he is an old man because his facial muscles will eventually just conform to that shape. > > I’m not sure if there’s any scientific basis to this theory but it holds true surprisingly often. I recall seeing a quote attributed to Abe Lincoln, roughly, “By the time he’s 40, every man is responsible for the face he has.” That’s kind of different than what the OP is asking, though. I think there’s a dumb look to some athletes, characterized a little by a hooded brow, and kind of a “dumb mouth”. These guys sometimes just have that “slack” face. I guess you’d call it the basis of the dumb jock stereotype. [Joe Montana](http://www.altmanphoto.com/JoeMontana.jpeg) [Jay Gibbons](http://www.onlinesports.com/images/phf-aaex017.gif) [Joe Dimaggio](http://images.bestwebbuys.com/muze/books/14/0684853914.jpg) [Clyde Drexler](http://images.chron.com/content/news/photos/05/03/06/drexler.jpg) Although, it’s hard to be specific. . . [Steve Largent](http://www.ukhawks.nildram.co.uk/images/mug1271.jpg) is a smart guy. He looks a little like Montana, but just a bit. . .brighter! ---
**Author:** ![irishgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@irishgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/irishgirl)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2005, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-people-that-are-stupid-looking-really-stupid/313207/23 "2005-07-20T13:26:38Z")
A nicer catch all term is “people with learning disabilities”. ---
**Author:** ![Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bippy_the_Beardless)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2005, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-people-that-are-stupid-looking-really-stupid/313207/24 "2005-07-20T15:13:38Z")
> [@irishgirl](#): > > A nicer catch all term is “people with learning disabilities”. But a catch all catches too much, Albert Einstein, Winston Churchill, Alexander Graham Bell, Leonardo DeVinci all probably had the learning disability of dyslexia. [Cite.](http://www.dyslexia.f9.co.uk/dyslexia/famous_dyslexics-0.html) Personally I didn’t think Joe Montana or Clyde Drexler looked stupid from the pictures linked. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2005, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-people-that-are-stupid-looking-really-stupid/313207/25 "2005-07-20T15:48:38Z")
I have read a little about Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, and it seems to apply to this question. Children whose mothers drank a lot during pregnancy tend to score badly on intelligence tests. FAS victims also tend to have telltale facial features. One of these is wide-set eyes. I don’t remember the rest of those facial features. So, in many cases, an adult with an “FAS face” will often have a lot in common with a box of rocks. ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2005, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-people-that-are-stupid-looking-really-stupid/313207/26 "2005-07-20T15:56:37Z")
> [@Bippy the Beardless](#): > > Personally I didn’t think Joe Montana or Clyde Drexler looked stupid from the pictures linked. It’s hard to capture statically, I think. Joe’s face is always emotionless, and it looks like he doesn’t understand what’s going on around him. And, I think his jaw hangs open a little. During an interview, sometimes it looks like it’s the first time he’s seen a microphone. He almost looks like a guy who has had a lobotomy or been struck by lightning – just dull and dim. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2005, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-people-that-are-stupid-looking-really-stupid/313207/27 "2005-07-20T18:06:28Z")
> [@AskNott](#): > > I have read a little about Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, and it seems to apply to this question. Children whose mothers drank a lot during pregnancy tend to score badly on intelligence tests. FAS victims also tend to have telltale facial features. One of these is wide-set eyes. I don’t remember the rest of those facial features. > > So, in many cases, an adult with an “FAS face” will often have a lot in common with a box of rocks. Hmm… not having grown up with him (_Rainman_ type situation coming up), I always tend to forget that I have a half brother that has FAS. I’ve only ever met him once, and lives in a special state-run home under custody of the state (NV). Highly reduced intelligence, facial and other physical deformations. I hate to sound like this, but I’m kind of glad I never got to know him because I’d feel, well, human towards him. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2005, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-people-that-are-stupid-looking-really-stupid/313207/28 "2005-07-20T19:19:14Z")
“Sometimes” is probably the best answer. ``` The human brain is extremely good at pattern recognition, and is also very good at picking up indications that something is not quite normal. I find that I can detect when someone is not walking quite correctly due to an injury or neurological defect, just from watching them take a few steps. So I'm willing to believe that the brain can pick up on very subtle facial cues indicating either congenital problems or neurological damage. This probably works better if you actually watch the person for a few minutes and see how they respond to stimuli rather than studying a picture. ``` It’s easy to be fooled, though. Damage to the motor nerves (slurred voice, tics, slack muscle tone) can lead to a perception of lack of intelligence, even though they are unrelated to the intellectual capacity of the person involved. We also tend to associate lack of maintenance (bad dental hygiene, ungroomed appearance) with lack of intelligence or at least lack of education, although those aren’t always the same thing. And note that people often think dogs look intelligent because of their habit of cocking their heads and listening while gazing at you with bright, interested eyes, despite the fact that those dogs are not noticeably brighter than your average slack-jawed yokel. ---
**Author:** ![groman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/73ab20/32.png) [@groman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/groman)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2005, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-people-that-are-stupid-looking-really-stupid/313207/29 "2005-07-20T19:38:40Z")
> [@Finagle](#): > > And note that people often think dogs look intelligent because of their habit of cocking their heads and listening while gazing at you with bright, interested eyes, despite the fact that those dogs are not noticeably brighter than your average slack-jawed yokel. We really have no basis for that conclusion, since we have no means of gauging canine intelligence. A genius who refuses to act like a genius is still a genius, and a retard who has adapted to live a normal life through imitation and disguise is still of reduced mental capacity. Dogs can be either. ---
**Author:** ![rainy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c2a13f/32.png) [@rainy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rainy)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2005, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-people-that-are-stupid-looking-really-stupid/313207/30 "2005-07-20T22:00:08Z")
> [@Bippy the Beardless](#): > > Is there any link between cranium volume and inteligence? According to this there is. [http://www.vcu.edu/uns/Releases/2005/june/061705.html](http://www.vcu.edu/uns/Releases/2005/june/061705.html) and on a related note [http://www.villagehatshop.com/facts\_brain.html](http://www.villagehatshop.com/facts_brain.html) -rainy ---
**Author:** ![Imasquare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Imasquare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Imasquare)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2005, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-people-that-are-stupid-looking-really-stupid/313207/31 "2005-07-20T23:55:55Z")
> [@Lissa](#): > > [This](http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/0312042utah1.html) woman is a perfect example of someone I would typify as “stupid looking.” The slack jaw, the vacant stare . . . the general appearance of someone going through life on auto-pilot. To me, she looks like she’s been beaten up. Her face is swollen and there are marks on her face that look like cuts and bruises. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-people-that-are-stupid-looking-really-stupid/313207.md?page=1)