Beauty Fades but Dumb is Forever
I don’t remember a lot of the things from my 9th grade (1st grade of high school) English class. I don’t even remember the teacher’s name, but I do remember this line from her. I don’t think a teacher should ever say this to her students, but it was memorable.
Beauty fades means that over time, people become less attractive. Dumb is forever is the idea that people can’t increase their intelligence. I have big issues with both statements. Also, I don’t think that the two statements are mutually exclusive. Attractive people can be smart and ugly people can be stupid.
Premise 1: Beauty fades
I believe my teacher was referencing a girl from my class. It may have been jealousy? I’m not sure. I don’t have a big issue with this on a societal level. Attractiveness does peak and gradually declines though the years. The Atlantic reports that women’s desirability peaks at 18 while men’s desirability peaks at 50. But, I think beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Some people maintain their physical attractiveness longer than others. And I am not sure that beauty needs to be physical. If you are attracted to knowledge, for example, then generally people will be more attractive over time.
Premise 2: Dumb is Forever
This is called a fixed mindset. People who have a fixed mindset about intelligence believe that people are born with a certain level of intelligence that they can’t change over time. IQ can fluctuate over time though the older you get the more stable your IQ score will people. But I don’t think IQ is the best determiner of intelligence. For me, intelligence is a combination of your ability to synthesize and apply new knowledge along with the amount of knowledge you gain. Since IQ does a fairly decent job of predicting this, my equation would be:
Intelligence = IQ x Knowledge Acquired
For more English phrases and quotes, follow me on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/ESL-ToyBox-112152010890485
Reference:
https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2018/08/online-dating-out-of-your-league/567083/
https://www.livescience.com/36143-iq-change-time.html