Mask measures what’s beautiful
By Nadine Kam
Beautyanalysis.com
The mask, fitted over an Asian face.
It’s not often you’ll find male reporters on our staff tackling beauty issues. Most often, they’re laughing heartily at story meetings in which I share what’s new in fashion (which would explain their rather clueless, careless appearance which wouldn’t fly anywhere else but a newsroom).
But, if you check out Digital Slob Curt Brandao’s column today, he talks about new software that quantifies feminine beauty, meaning someday you won’t have to turn to an online community to confirm whether you’re hot or not. Instead, you’ll likely get the cold, hard fact in the form of a number.
(According to Curt, the formula doesn’t yet work with men because there are too many variables associated with male attractiveness. What? Like the size of their bank account and make and model of their car?)
Curt sends the reader off to Marquadt Beauty Analysis beautyanalysis.com, where there is a mask that shows the Golden Ratio of beauty that fits women of different races and time periods, so we can see how women from Nefertiti to Renaissance beauties to Marilyn Monroe all fit the mask.
There is nothing new about measuring beauty in the form of ideal proportions. In print, we follow a rule of thirds in our page designs to create a range of visual experiences, from harmony to dissonance, depending on the story.
What’s new in quantifying human beauty is potentially negative applications. It may seem like fun now, but Curt raises the idea that later, it might prevent you from getting into a club, or might be used to pre-screen applicants for certain job positions or dating services, as if a 10 and a 5 have no chance at love.
What such a program can’t do is take into account physical quirks that are endearing. How else to explain how Steve Buscemi is just as appealing to me as a conventionally handsome man like George Clooney seems to be appealing to everyone else. I actually find conventional good looks rather boring, but I’ll always look twice at a guy with a snaggletooth.
April 7th, 2008 at 1:38 pm
TOTALLY agree with you about being bored with ‘conventional good looks’. omg. i thought i was the only one. looks or standards of any kind are not even in my picture of a perfect partner. it’s all about that intellect and chemistry.
but don’t judge me by the one i’m currently dating! i mean. he’s drop dead gorgeous. i figure that’s just a nice little present from the universe for all the past heartaches. i’m sure it will be a headache to hold on to him for long tho. lol.
April 8th, 2008 at 9:17 pm
Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.
April 9th, 2008 at 2:03 pm
I don’t think that you would date a fugly person because without good looks or attractiveness there is no chemistry. Just look at your second part it proves that and just for curiosity how many short ugly men have you dated?
July 9th, 2008 at 5:25 pm
The mask doesn’t fit her face though. Don’t you see how out of line her eyebrows are? The mask eyebrows sit below her real eyebrows. If her real eyebrows were as low as the mask, she would look manly. And that is one big flaw with the mask. Look at it on any feminine face and you will see the eyebrows are set too low.