"You Didn't Earn That"
This post by @logic got me thinking: Why do we as a society believe that people who were born with brains or brawn, and exploit those assets for their economic benefit, have "earned" their way in the world, why those who were born with beauty, and exploit that asset for their economic benefit, have not? Do we really think that intelligence or eloquence or brawn are any less a function of DNA or social class or "luck" than...beauty?
One person is born beautiful and gets upvoted in life as a result. Another is born eloquent and gets upvoted in life too. Neither "earned" it. Neither "deserves" it. It's just luck of the genetic or social lottery, that's all.
Sure, maybe the intelligent person went to school and applied herself. Does that mean she has "earned" her subsequent living? No, at least no more than the beautiful one who spent equal amounts of time grooming, staying fit and studying make-up tutorials to look his very best so that he too could earn his way.
We identify with intelligence and articulateness more than with our physical bodies simply because we irrationally believe that "we" are ultimately immaterial--that "we" are an inner essence, an inner intelligence, a soul that is separate from our material flesh. Consequently, we seek to take credit for the former and can be easily dismissive of the latter. However, once we abandoned the illusion that we have an immaterial essence, as science suggests we should, we can take no more credit for "our" brilliance as "our" beauty, "our" stupidy as "our" ugliness.
We are not our bodies. And we are not our minds. We deserve credit, or blame, for neither. Give that, how about we cut ourselves, and each other, a little more slack? How about we celebrate the exceptional among us in whatever form it appears? Life's a lot more fun that way.
Photo credit: Me. Subject: @steemed-open.
Great discussion, Sean. Reminds me a bit of a post I did on determinism. I think humans love to create symbols and connections to things in order to understand what they can't currently comprehend. The nature vs. nurture discussion is a good example. We don't yet know the impact of cultural norms on our development, or how epigenetics trigger various gene expressions, or how our DNA shapes our future. It's all relatively new stuff and until we can simulate all of human existence, including our unique, individual brains, we may never fully understand it. :)
I agree! Everyone seems to be getting caught up on the whole nature versus nurture aspect of my comment when what I really meant to emphasize is that both are essentially random from the perspective of any given individual. Whether I'm born with the right genes is no more or less random than whether I was born to the right parents who cared for me and supported me. Or in the right country with a decent education system. Or in the right socio-economic class within that country. My basic point is that all of these things impact lives immensely, but none of them are "deserved" or "earned". They are luck. That's true whether we are talking about beauty, intelligence or eloquence.
Some people seem to think that I'm therefore suggesting that nothing is worthy of celebration as a result, when I'm actually arguing just the opposite. The sunset didn't "earn" it's beauty, but its no less sounding and worthy of awe. Same with human beauty. Or human brilliance. Exceptionalism is worthy of celebration regardless of "merit".
What you say doesnt ring true to me, but I think the commenters below covered most of the basic comon sense analisys.
Now, tangentially related with this what we see here in steemit is a lot of
women hating on beauty because it opaques their beauty and "work",
here is an example
"I am planning on publishing once a week. Verification is not required, much like #secret-writer, we are not just focused on the face of the author. What I am looking for is the true Steemit: intellectuals, writers, artists and creators that make this place feel more like a community."
from https://steemit.com/steemit/@veralynn/women-of-steemit-vol-1
you will hear countless and infinite times women like @veralynn @stellabelle @lauralemons etc, complain about how their great intellects are not recognized because of them not being traditionally beautiful or past their prime, shaming men into valuing the intellects of women and not their beauty.
The interesting point to note is that you will never hear a young/beautiful lady say this, every woman that can use sexual empowerment just uses it while she can, then the same woman when she's past her prime will begin complaining about how unfair it is to compete with the beauty of a 20 year old girl.
In short, hypocrites.
Fair point. I have noticed this tendancy also. Alhough I believe that @veralynn has acknowledged that she is a cam girl, so she is not opposed to exploiting looks. And I've noticed @stellabelle has softened on this issue of late. It's clear she processing a lot of...stuff...and I expect her views will continue to morph as she does so.
For the record, the subject in the photo of my post above is aged 47.
Totally. With women, the wall is real. It is a fleeting advantage. If they can develop skills, connections, assets during that time, that is great. But most can't. Which is sad.
Yes, very sad. I agree,
you can have my -6 rep vote
Holy cow... This article is incredible. It blew my mind, Because it's a mindset I've never heard of.
I think that the idea of inner essences has done incalculable damage to the human condition. I used to be extremely dismissive of people who made their way in life relying on beauty and brawn, but I have now accepted that intelligence is also arbitrary.
Great post!
I hadn't thought about it this way. You bring up a very interesting point that some people are just genetically blessed with looks, intelligence, etc. I have no problem with people using sex appeal (almost all successful fashion and many other advertisements use this).
However I also think that at the end of my life, how do I want to be remembered. Like what will the speeches be at my funeral. If I were beautiful or a model (neither haha) I would surely leverage that as I would be foolish not to use any attribute from athletic skills to strength etc to benefit myself. But it comes down to what you do with the gains you receive. I have a lot of respect for the Miss America winners who go on to give girls confidence through speeches and travel the world spreading more than simple beauty. I look at some people on Instagram who are celebrities and who post only selfies and products they endorse. That's great for their bank account but in all honesty I feel that is a waste if you are not going out and using your gifts for others.
If at my funeral someone were to say "yeah he was really good looking and was great at modeling" (again I'd be shocked) I'd feel as if I wasted my life. Don't get me wrong. I understand many people use beauty as their job, but they can be more than a pretty face by bettering society.
People with intelligence often invent new things and contribute in a way that changes the world long after they pass. Forgive me if I offend any Baywatch fans, but if you were to compare Pamela Anderson's funeral speech (when that occurs) with someone like Steve Jobs, I can say that while a great entertainer, Pamela has no real impact on my life through her beauty, but Steve Jobs has absolutely changed my everyday life. That's an extreme example and may not be fair to compare, but I feel intelligence may be more valued because of the lasting impact and the saying "beauty is fleeting" rings true. What you do and accomplish once you are old and wrinkly and may not be considered beautiful anymore is something I think more people should take the time to think about, especially those in fashion, modeling etc.
Just my 2 cents, and would be interested to see if others agree or not with my views on the subject.
yes loved this post, thankyou for this !! so true what you say,I liked especially your conclusion that we should not judge people by the brains or beauty but more who they are now and and trying to be, with their words and actions !! So dont judge a book by its cover or by the exact words inside, but more of the message and effect it has on the surrounding environment !!
TO the folks hating on this:
So chill, all. There are advantages and disadvantages on both sides here, says the "definitley on autism spectrum" guy..... Some are inherited and some are learned and some are exercised into being and some are trained, but the fact is that in the end we have agency and none of these things is any better than the others. They are just attributes of what make us, us.
If there is something that I dont like in human is ENVY. No matter how someone rationalize it, if someone complain about another success it boils down to envy...because if they were in the other person shoes, they would have probably done the same as them to get a payout.
Very refreshing to come across this on Steemit. I whole-heartedly agree with every single sentence you wrote here except for two:
"We are not our bodies. And we are not our minds."
We don't have bodies, we are our bodies and most definitely our minds. Not sure what you were trying to say here.
Also, the public doesn't understand that we know a lot about the genetic contribution to intelligence. There is an impressive body of evidence on this. The heritability of intelligence is 80%. Height, is 90%. Thank you for this post.
Here's a post that makes everyone react lol. And because I'm part of everyone...
I do agree with you. It does make sense, fundamentally, that if you are recognized by your traits or capabilities that applies to both your physical body as well as your mind, in all their variants. What a lot of people is probably trying to argue here, and I must agree, is that you see people that accomplished nothing in life except for starring in a reality show. And I do mean a pure, petty, low life reality show. This may be an extreme example, but the underlying point remains. But as I said, I agree with your post. And if people think about it in a rational unbiased way, they'll probably end up realizing that too.