Eliezer_Yudkowsky comments on Be Happier - Less Wrong

108 [deleted] 16 April 2012 01:51AM

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Comment author: wedrifid 18 April 2012 04:35:44PM 14 points [-]

The outlines of the performance theory seem good, and it feels introspectively correct as well. But if happiness is a high-status marker, why is it unattractive to women?

I took a look at the paper, and in particular the sample image they include:

My first impression was a lot more attraction to the female 'pride' picture than any of the other female images - while pride in females was found to be highly unattractive. Now I want to determine whether my preferences differ from some norm or whether this picture is an unusual case.

I do allow that much of my preference may have been determined simply due to the combination of hideously unflattering t-shirts and arms being up in the air compensating for that and actually making breasts evident. If giving all the people ghostly shirts was supposed to be some clever attempt to isolate the influence of clothing then it seems somewhat shortsighted. (Mind you if males were consistently not attracted to the 'pride' female despite it being the only one with apparent breasts then that is just all the more significant!)

Comment author: Eliezer_Yudkowsky 18 April 2012 10:40:59PM 0 points [-]

You need some actual poll here, but yes, the pride image seems obviously more attractive. It is possible that the other confounders played a role, but I at least think that I find pride attractive generally.

Comment author: wedrifid 18 April 2012 10:57:51PM *  4 points [-]

You need some actual poll here

OK.

You need some actual poll here, but yes, the pride image seems obviously more attractive. It is possible that the other confounders played a role, but I at least think that I find pride attractive generally.

Come to think of it if I rate the pictures based on how happy they seem to me at first glance the 'pride' picture still wins out over 'happiness'. That quite possibly speaks primarily to how happy I feel when in the respective poses.

Comment author: khafra 20 April 2012 04:31:56PM 0 points [-]

Pride it is. What we need now is an experimental design to discern whether LWers prefer pride because we're contrarian; because wannabe-rationalists are less threatened by strong, confident women; because we're unusually attracted to prominent breasts; or some other reason.

Comment author: CuSithBell 20 April 2012 05:15:29PM 3 points [-]

What we need now is an experimental design to discern whether [...] we're unusually attracted to prominent breasts

Purely out of scientific curiosity, I'm sure.

Comment author: RobinZ 20 April 2012 05:26:50PM 0 points [-]

I was thinking that giving volunteer instructions on the poses they are to make and letting them take their own pictures with a foot-pedal to operate the shutter might work. Does anyone see a problem with that solution?