Cosmides Solon wrote:
> The following webpage lists some articles on facial attractiveness.
> In particular, the second is an article in Nature suggesting a relationship
> between fluctuating hormonal levels in women and a corresponding fluctuating
> preference in degree of facial masculinity.
> My impression is there should be a considerable amount of published
> material relating those hormones to neurology. In addition, there should
> also be at least some amount of published material about the aesthetics of
> faces.
> Any thoughts?
>
> http://psych.st-and.ac.uk:8080/people/personal/ip/publications.html
>
> nvzbl@excite.com
<only snipped the ad blurbs including ours:)>
Before I read all the documentation, I took the test. The faces were
interesting. Kind of average. I didn't notice "masculinity" or "femininity" but
what appeared to be the other axis, which is which face looked "older" and more
"burnt out". It is real hard to judge these things. I guess I could read that as
"older" though some might read it as more "craggy " and "therefore masculine" or
some might read as more feminine. In one case I would have asked, do you want to
pick this person as a lover, or say would I have liked to have them as an
academic advisor. Suddenly I was kind of giggling, "well, gee what flux in
hormone levels makes one pick an academic advisor..."
I guess I should read more than the abstract and read what hormones someone is
monitoring and how. And via what technique. I mean I have read these enticing
stories for quite sometime, but they sort of in the past faded upon examination.
It seems to me hard to separate the cultural bias for beauty out of this. Other
than than the symmetry argument because many bad biological and bad genetic
conditions produce asymmetry, is rest is very foggy. And I wonder if the incest
taboo usually keeps people from picking partners older than themselves or is it
social pressure. It is hard to separate all these things. But it is intriguing
why for example the women I am attracted to, are thought by other guys to "look
like guys". Hard to say why? So intriguing, but nowhere close to a cigar!:)
Have Fun,
Sends Steve
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