# smarter or better looking **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 23, 2000, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smarter-or-better-looking/30456 "2000-08-23T16:12:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![APB9999](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e8cbc/32.png) [@APB9999](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/APB9999)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2000, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smarter-or-better-looking/30456/21 "2000-08-23T20:53:48Z")
> [@](#): > > I’m 6’3", IQ 160+, I get told by my friends that are already involved and want me to date their friends that I am a fairly handsome fellow. After playing rugby for 3 years, being in the Marine Corps for 6 years and being an avid cycler, rollerblader, skier, SCUBA diver and rock climber/rappeler, I suppose I’ve already got the physique thing down. I’m an engineer. I can cook, sew, keep plants alive, keep an 8” group at 600 yards with a M-14 and handle a 600 hp stock car at over 161 mph. Oh yeah? OH YEAH? Well, I’m 6’4", my IQ is 175, and I have a Ph.D. in Nuclear Literature from Harvard. Women swoon with delight when they meet me. I am a Navy SEAL. I bench press 360 lbs. I can cook and sew and kill 8" plants at 600 yards with an M-14. I can write my real name in the snow without running out of ink. My real name is Augustinius Eratosthenes Cyrankiewicz. I can sing the national anthem on key, and I know the exact value of pi. I have a magic sack that’s always full of barley. So There. ---
**Author:** ![Poysyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Poysyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poysyn)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2000, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smarter-or-better-looking/30456/22 "2000-08-23T20:54:39Z")
I go along with Tymp, most of the things I would change about my appearance I could do so with some effort (get in better shape etc). I would choose to be smarter, unless of course bigger boobs are possible! 😃 Brains, gimme more braaaains! ---
**Author:** ![JoeyHemlock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7ba0ec/32.png) [@JoeyHemlock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoeyHemlock)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2000, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smarter-or-better-looking/30456/23 "2000-08-23T21:06:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Poysyn \* > **I would choose to be smarter…** No fair! You HAVE to choose smarter. You can’t get much better looking… ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2000, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smarter-or-better-looking/30456/24 "2000-08-23T21:13:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ukulele Ike \* > It would depend on whether I planned to live in Los Angeles or New York. Is this the voice of the green-eyed monster? Don’t worry, Mr. Ike, the paragons of beauty in Los Angeles (of which I number myself) will still accept you as one of us. We need people to toil in the subterranean depths while we enjoy the sunshine and fresh air. ---
**Author:** ![Tymp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Tymp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tymp)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2000, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smarter-or-better-looking/30456/25 "2000-08-23T21:14:02Z")
That’s funny, **APB9999**. Even having met you, I never would have guessed that your middle name was Eratosthenes. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Geek\_Mecha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecae2f/32.png) [@Geek\_Mecha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Geek_Mecha)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2000, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smarter-or-better-looking/30456/26 "2000-08-23T21:20:21Z")
I’m content with my most aspects of my appearance. I’d take an extra helping of brains. ---
**Author:** ![Ad\_Noctum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b19c9b/32.png) [@Ad\_Noctum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ad_Noctum)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2000, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smarter-or-better-looking/30456/27 "2000-08-23T21:24:38Z")
my IQ points are in the mid 130’s, and I, being a shortie at 5’7", and being second in command in my dept at work, would NOT mind being a little more attractive…w ell… better not say that either, Hell, I’m only 15 ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2000, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smarter-or-better-looking/30456/28 "2000-08-23T21:27:55Z")
Well, even though I haven’t been able to get laid in longer than I’m willing to post here, I’m damn happy with my looks. Very satisfied with my brains, too. Except that a few years ago I embarked on a campaign to lower my intelligence to a more common-denominator level. Boy, was THAT a mistake! My short-term memory’s not what it used to be, and my long-term memory isn’t that much better. My ability to carry on an intelligent conversation has dulled significantly (but I attribute that to intellectual aphasia–very few people in town I can relate to) and all I have left is a good library. I guess I’d have to go for the intelligence thing, if for nothing else, to get up to where I was 6 years ago. Anyway, looks don’t mean all that–Bill Gates got hitched, didn’t he? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![brachyrhynchos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brachyrhynchos/32/376_2.png) [@brachyrhynchos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brachyrhynchos)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2000, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smarter-or-better-looking/30456/29 "2000-08-23T21:32:57Z")
Definitely choose the smarts. Then I could cook up some cool scheme that would net me millions instantly while staying out of jail and THEN I could afford all those rich plastic surgeons that could nip and tuck me to their hearts desire. After achieving the perfect beauty, I’d take my smart-ass head and money-filled bank account and find a nice little warm island where I can bird watch all day long while cabana boys attend to my every whim. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Cynical](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ee59a6/32.png) [@Mr.Cynical](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Cynical)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2000, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smarter-or-better-looking/30456/30 "2000-08-23T21:43:55Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Poysyn \* > **I would choose to be smarter, unless of course bigger boobs are possible!** Did I ever mention that I have unusually small hands? ---
**Author:** ![Ad\_Noctum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b19c9b/32.png) [@Ad\_Noctum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ad_Noctum)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2000, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smarter-or-better-looking/30456/31 "2000-08-23T22:13:07Z")
youa re forgetting, some of the SMARTEST people in the world died penniless because they were plagued with a condition where their mind would never sleep, they were always thinking up new plans, inventions. Thomas Edison would sometimes not sleep for days and days because of this, and I have seen old photos of him pulling his hair because he was having anxiety attacks from no sleep and too many ideas for his head and consciousness to keep up with… so think again about smarts… “Life is 99% what you make of it, the other 1% is what you are” ---
**Author:** ![Profane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e47774/32.png) [@Profane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Profane)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2000, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smarter-or-better-looking/30456/32 "2000-08-23T22:49:39Z")
I’m satisfied with my appearance, and I’m smart enough for my purposes. I’d trade a couple of IQ points for being slim while eating whatever I want, though. ---
**Author:** ![MysterEcks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f475e1/32.png) [@MysterEcks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MysterEcks)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2000, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smarter-or-better-looking/30456/33 "2000-08-24T03:18:20Z")
**Lissa** said: > [@](#): > > Hell, I wouldn’t marry a stupid man, even if he looked like Brad Pitt. Ah, but would you marry an extremely intelligent man who weighed 450 pounds and closely resembled Jabba the Hut? A lot of people, both male and female, instantaneously judge the less attractive as less worthy. It’s shallow, and it’s stupid, and it’s a real shame…but it’s also the truth. Note the OP, for instance, where **horowitz** regards having a “dumpy wife” as a punishment for being short. As for the question…I don’t need any more intelligence, but I am sorely lacking in the looks department, so I’d take the looks. ---
**Author:** ![Kilgore\_Trout\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6de8d8/32.png) [@Kilgore\_Trout\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kilgore_Trout_1)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2000, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smarter-or-better-looking/30456/34 "2000-08-24T04:42:35Z")
i wish i could pick both like iampunha obviously did. ---
**Author:** ![Tzel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Tzel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tzel)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2000, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smarter-or-better-looking/30456/35 "2000-08-24T06:08:59Z")
I’m not sure how to judge my looks. I think I’m a decent looking guy, and my last girlfriend seemed to think I was some kind of Adonis. Go figure. I like to think I’m smart. SAT 1470 (verbal 790, math 680), IQ ~150. I would definitely choose intelligence. No contest. I would have to be pretty damned hideous to choose looks. Brains are just so much more multi-purpose. ---
**Author:** ![horowitz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/2acd7d/32.png) [@horowitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/horowitz)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2000, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smarter-or-better-looking/30456/36 "2000-08-24T13:27:01Z")
> [@](#): > > Note the OP, for instance, where **horowitz** regards having a “dumpy wife” as a punishment for being short.\*\* The real tragedy of my OP was ending up with a minivan. Actually the point I was trying to make is that the world is an inherently unfair place. Don’t get me wrong I don’t think it would work any other way. I have used my smarts and believe it or not my leadership skills to scrape out a pretty good living. Hell with a series of tragic plane crashes I may make CEO yet. I just think that a little more height would have more tangible results for me than a little more brains. ---
**Author:** ![Lissa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lissa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissa)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2000, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smarter-or-better-looking/30456/37 "2000-08-24T14:20:24Z")
> [@](#): > > Ah, but would you marry an extremely intelligent man who weighed 450 pounds and closely resembled Jabba the Hut? A lot of people, both male and female, instantaneously judge the less attractive as less worthy. I married a man who is working on his PHd right now, but wouldn’t be called attractive by most people. But I can sit with him and have an intelligent conversation on just about any subject. What more can a girl want? I married a man whom I respected and admired, and am respected and admired by him in return. ---
**Author:** ![DRY](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a87d85/32.png) [@DRY](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DRY)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2000, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smarter-or-better-looking/30456/38 "2000-08-25T06:36:59Z")
Either would be pathetically easy to upgrade for me. As would the following: –richer sex life (and “richer” is actually superfluous) –nicer personality (“nicer” = “richer” above) Let’s just say I’m good looking enough to be in Mensa, and smart enough to be a movie star. [sub]Well, all right, dammit, but I’m pretty _close_ in both cases![/sub] ---
**Author:** ![Sue\_Duhnym](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/91b2a8/32.png) [@Sue\_Duhnym](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sue_Duhnym)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2000, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smarter-or-better-looking/30456/39 "2000-08-25T06:46:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Tymp \* > \*\*I’m plenty sexy already. \*\* Damn straight, baby! 😉 YUM! Hubba hubba! I’ll go for the brains. That way I can earn enough money to pay for all of my plastic surgery. ---
**Author:** ![Lexicon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ac8455/32.png) [@Lexicon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lexicon)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2000, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smarter-or-better-looking/30456/40 "2000-08-25T06:56:10Z")
I don’t really care about looks to much. I’d much rather be smarter, because I’m kinda dumb. Watch, I’ll prove it: > [@](#): > > Definately smarter. I was shocked and appalled once while watching a television show where they asked women if they would give up IQ points to have larger breats, and an overwhelming majority (or at least the ones they aired) said that they would. Most chics can’t afford it. See? What a stupid thing to say. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smarter-or-better-looking/30456.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smarter-or-better-looking/30456.md?page=3)