Gyroscopic Investing

Everyone is not beautiful. Some people have tumors the size of a second head growing out of their ears. Some people have skin like the Michelin man. Some people lose fingers, legs, or eyes in horrific assembly-line machine accidents. People have warts and blemishes and hair loss and dead teeth and lazy eyes and cleft palates and third nipples and unibrows.

There are plenty of people that are not physically appealing to look at, the primary and most widely used meaning of the word “beautiful”?. So why do we use the word as a catch-all for any sort of positive attribute?

Nobody says, “Everybody is a good listener.”? Nobody says, “Everyone is athletic to somebody.”? Nobody says, “You are an amazing writer, whether you know it or not.”? I keep waiting, but they never say it.

Beauty is the only trait that everyone gets free access to. Why?

Because we have created a culture that values beauty above all other innate traits…for women, at least. Men are generally valued by their success, which is seen solely as a result of talent and hard work, despite how much it depends on luck and knowing the right people.

But women are pretty much a one-note instrument. Society says, you’re hot, or you’re not. Your looks affect your choice of mate, the friends you have, and even your job. And this factor that will affect every part of your life is something you have virtually no control over.

This, of course, is a horrible thing to say, and society knows better. It knows that saying this acknowledges that this is an unfair and unreasonable way to run things. So it reassures you that "everyone is beautiful."

Because if everyone is beautiful or everyone can be beautiful or everyone is beautiful to someone, it’s okay to base a civilization around it.

And we have based a civilization around it.

Kshartle wrote: What does he mean "And we have based a civilization around it."?

Anyone care to take a stab at the meaning of this statement? It looks like just some words on a page to me, I assume I'm missing the point.

Pointedstick wrote:

Kshartle wrote: What does he mean "And we have based a civilization around it."?

Anyone care to take a stab at the meaning of this statement? It looks like just some words on a page to me, I assume I'm missing the point.

You should read the article, which explains what that means.

You are valuable.

You are important.

You are interesting.

You are worth loving.

jan van mourik wrote: Meh.

You are valuable.

You are important.

You are interesting.

You are worth loving.

Aren't those more or less the same as beautiful? I'm valuable and important to maybe a handful of people. If I die today there might be between 8 and 15 people who will really take notice. Then a few more who will say, "oh wow, he was still so young. What a shame! .... Ok, let's go get some lunch!!". Maybe a few of those 8~15 will even think I'm beautiful! In about 40 years from now I will be forgotten.

Kshartle wrote:

jan van mourik wrote: Meh.

You are valuable.

You are important.

You are interesting.

You are worth loving.

Aren't those more or less the same as beautiful? I'm valuable and important to maybe a handful of people. If I die today there might be between 8 and 15 people who will really take notice. Then a few more who will say, "oh wow, he was still so young. What a shame! .... Ok, let's go get some lunch!!". Maybe a few of those 8~15 will even think I'm beautiful! In about 40 years from now I will be forgotten.

I notice you didn't say you were interesting or worth loving to anyone.

j/k!

I think the author wants to take aways the power of the word beutiful by de-coupling it from other meanings. He wants the word to be strictly used for it's actual definition so we don't take that definition (physical beauty) and assign the concept of value, importance, etc. to it.

Only 8-15 people will really take notice!?!?!?

jan for the rest of 2014 I want you to make a new friend every week. Law of averages says some of them will turn into important people to you who will take notice when a shark/bear eats you. Let's get that to 16-30 by the end of 2015.