# Pretty & Dumb or Smart & Ugly? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 18, 2008, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pretty-dumb-or-smart-ugly/453345 "2008-06-18T15:25:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2008, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pretty-dumb-or-smart-ugly/453345/21 "2008-06-18T16:39:00Z")
> [@Autolycus](#): > > In general, I would slide my personal scale towards ‘smart and dumb,’ but I wouldn’t go very far. Yeah, I meant ‘smart and pretty.’ Oh great… I originally typed “mean’t.” It’s already happening! ---
**Author:** ![Toxylon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f05b48/32.png) [@Toxylon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxylon)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2008, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pretty-dumb-or-smart-ugly/453345/22 "2008-06-18T16:42:20Z")
> [@](#): > > Smart can get you money As can looks. ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2008, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pretty-dumb-or-smart-ugly/453345/23 "2008-06-18T17:10:18Z")
[QUOTE=Toxylon] As can looks. [/QUOTE] Not if you’re too dumb to know how to use your looks to your advantage. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2008, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pretty-dumb-or-smart-ugly/453345/24 "2008-06-18T17:34:08Z")
Very few people I meet are genuinely dumb. They all have a different skill set, but I can’t think of the last time I thought “Wow, that person I just met is really smart.” They may be logical, or know a lot, or work really hard, etc. Never “smart” or “dumb”. With that in mind, I’d rather have someone ugly with an awesome personality, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![LVgeogeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b19c9b/32.png) [@LVgeogeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LVgeogeek)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2008, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pretty-dumb-or-smart-ugly/453345/25 "2008-06-18T17:36:59Z")
[QUOTE=ScareyFaerie] If it was only for a short amount of time, I’d like to give “pretty but dumb” a try. I’ve always been the “ugly but intelligent” type, never really tried ‘pretty’ before, it might be fun. [/QUOTE] Ditto. I would much rather be smart/intelligent and ugly (which I am), than pretty and dumb-as-a-sack-of-hammers. But somethimes I wonder what it would be like to be one of the “stupid beautiful people” now and again…if even just for a day. ---
**Author:** ![Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sleeps_With_Butterflies)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2008, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pretty-dumb-or-smart-ugly/453345/26 "2008-06-18T17:40:25Z")
Count me as another who believes this to be pretty silly without specifics. I’d say I’m pretty satisfied with my level of attractiveness and smarts. Too much of anything (even a good thing) can be bad. I’ve known people who are drop dead gorgeous yet insecure. I’ve met people who are too smart for their own good. They over-think everything, and are horrific bores. I’m happy to be somewhere in the middle. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2008, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pretty-dumb-or-smart-ugly/453345/27 "2008-06-18T18:40:08Z")
Give me smart and ugly any day. Because, as many have pointed out, beauty fades…and trying to maintain beauty after it has faded is just depressing. No matter how beautiful someone is, and no matter how sexually attractive they are, one has to eventually _talk_ to them. Give me someone with interesting opinions and a good mind and I’ll be happy for life, even if the plumbing ceases to work. Also, good lovemaking is a learned skill, one an intelligent and inventive person will acquire more quickly and and well. ---
**Author:** ![Astroboy14](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/df705f/32.png) [@Astroboy14](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Astroboy14)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2008, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pretty-dumb-or-smart-ugly/453345/28 "2008-06-18T19:09:18Z")
I’d give pretty and dumb a shot… ugly and dumb has been a loser for me so far. ---
**Author:** ![Toxylon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f05b48/32.png) [@Toxylon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxylon)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2008, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pretty-dumb-or-smart-ugly/453345/29 "2008-06-18T19:11:02Z")
> [@](#): > > Not if you’re too dumb to know how to use your looks to your advantage. But the OP specified > [@](#): > > Pretty but \*\*a little \*\* dumb, or ugly but brilliant? (bolding mine). Anna Nicole Smith for one, managed to make a decent buck with nothing but looks. Or Sabrina, the buxom Italian pop princess (without a hint of musical talent) of the late '80’s. I think scores of trophy wives and toy boys fit the description, too. ---
**Author:** ![UntouchedTakeaway](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/d78d45/32.png) [@UntouchedTakeaway](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UntouchedTakeaway)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2008, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pretty-dumb-or-smart-ugly/453345/30 "2008-06-18T19:39:49Z")
I’ve spent my life as smart & plain (ugly?) I’d be willing to see how the other half lives. VCNJ~ ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2008, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pretty-dumb-or-smart-ugly/453345/31 "2008-06-18T20:22:10Z")
To paraphrase Tallulah Bankhead: I’ve been smart and I’ve been pretty, and smart is better. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2008, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pretty-dumb-or-smart-ugly/453345/32 "2008-06-18T20:36:54Z")
[QUOTE=ScareyFaerie] If it was only for a short amount of time, I’d like to give “pretty but dumb” a try. I’ve always been the “ugly but intelligent” type, never really tried ‘pretty’ before, it might be fun. [/QUOTE] My thoughts exactly. It might be cool to have people fall over themselves because of my looks, but then I’d have to be worried about how long they’ll last. So temporarily, yes, but long-term smart and ugly. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2008, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pretty-dumb-or-smart-ugly/453345/33 "2008-06-18T20:46:17Z")
[QUOTE=Johnny L.A.] I misread the question. :smack: [/QUOTE] At least you’ve got your looks. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Mrs.Cake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2acd7d/32.png) [@Mrs.Cake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mrs.Cake)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2008, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pretty-dumb-or-smart-ugly/453345/34 "2008-06-18T22:43:42Z")
I’ll go with smart & ugly. I find it’s a whole ot easier to get used to the way someone looks than the way they think (or don’t think, as the case may be), and the circles I travel in seem to think much the same way. Pretty is appreciated, but dumb doesn’t last long around these people. It either smartens up or goes away. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2008, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pretty-dumb-or-smart-ugly/453345/35 "2008-06-18T23:42:12Z")
[QUOTE=Mr Buttons] The poll results in the class stunned me. 80% of the class said they would rather be beautiful w/ a mental handicap. I was in the with the 20% group. [/QUOTE] I wouldn’t be too stunned by their responses. Even schoolkids can deduce that ‘pretty & dumb’ = ‘popular & happy’ whereas ‘ugly & smart’ = ‘less popular & less happy’. That is the subtext to this comparison for most. ---
**Author:** ![Dumbguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/2bfe46/32.png) [@Dumbguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dumbguy)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2008, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pretty-dumb-or-smart-ugly/453345/36 "2008-06-18T23:51:20Z")
I’ll go with pretty and dumb. I’m halfway home already. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2008, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pretty-dumb-or-smart-ugly/453345/37 "2008-06-19T00:09:58Z")
I’d wish her to her to become whatever would bring the most honour and happiness to her. damn, that Chaucer was good… ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2008, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pretty-dumb-or-smart-ugly/453345/38 "2008-06-19T00:37:46Z")
When I was 4 years old, teams of doctors diagnosed me with allergies to ugly women. I had to wear sunglasses with flip-down opaque shields as treatment. In some circumstances like state fairs and buffet restaurants, I had to keep the shields down most of the time or I would vomit uncontrollably. In adulthood, therapy has taught me to look away which works fine under most circumstances, unless I attend something like a biker rally or a KD Lang concert in which case I cope by staring at my shoes or hiding in the bathroom. Beautiful but retarded chicks don’t invoke convulsions until much later. The ideal scenario would would be that she can’t speak but she could understand basic commands like vacuum the floor or iron my shirts and clean the toilets while I am at work. That would teach her basic skills on how to please a man including me which will benefit her including me. If she can speak, I would just wear Ipod speakers when I am around her. She won’t understand what they are although I could buy her some earbuds not plugged into anything just to show her how cool they are and how we are so cute that we can match accessories. In short, I think the dumb and ugly chick would be much easier to cope with over the ugly one. Frankly, I don’t understand why the latter is ever let out of the house to begin with. It isn’t specific to this question but there are some goods for sex relations on the internet. [www.menarebetterthanwomen.com](http://www.menarebetterthanwomen.com) is a good start, ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2008, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pretty-dumb-or-smart-ugly/453345/39 "2008-06-19T00:41:05Z")
[QUOTE=Toxylon] Pretty and dumb, hands down. Beautiful people are at an advantage wherever human interaction occurs (excluding the Internet and phone sex), even before they open their mouth, be it a shapely, pretty woman or a tall, muscular, square-jawed man. Ugly people will have to excel to make up for their lack of comeliness, and even then many will shun them. I don’t think I’d suffer much about my dumbness if I was drop-dead gorgeous. I think I’d suffer every day if I was highly intelligent _and_ ugly. [/QUOTE] Since I don’t really care much for human interaction, (there are reasons I’m on the computer all the time) I’ll take brilliant please. ---
**Author:** ![BrknButterfly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/439d5e/32.png) [@BrknButterfly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrknButterfly)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2008, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pretty-dumb-or-smart-ugly/453345/40 "2008-06-19T00:47:57Z")
Well I think I am “ugly” per society’s definition, so I guess I am in the smart category. Though some would do a double take on that as well. 😉 LOL [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pretty-dumb-or-smart-ugly/453345.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pretty-dumb-or-smart-ugly/453345.md?page=3)