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Small-Scale Question Sunday for January 15, 2023

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.

Culture war topics are accepted, and proposals for a better intro post are appreciated.

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What's the strangest thing that someone has ever told you was attractive about you? The strangest thing you've found yourself attracted to in someone else?

Once someone was immensely impressed by the fact that I carried a phone without a case.

As for me, big dark frame glasses raise anyone 2 whole points for me, gets me every time. Blame Mrs FiveHour.

A girl once told me I had very soft hands, and insisted on holding my hand as much as possible all night (we weren't on a date, just out drinking in a medium-sized group).

I assumed she was hitting on me but was politely rebuffed. Apparently she really did just like my soft hands.

I assumed she was hitting on me but was politely rebuffed.

Women ☕

The closest to outright strange would be girls digging my accent. I don't sound Indian at all, more like something between something American or Nordic. Which is nice, because I absolutely can't stand stereotypical Indian accents myself.

There was one time in med school that a girl fainted after having to prick herself for a blood sample, I happened to catch her and carry her in my arms to a nearby bed.

I thought nothing of it, until she caught me while I was heading home and thanked me for it all bashful-like. I was tickled pink haha.

That reminds me, I wish I had nice forearms. Mine have always been thin, even when I was working out regularly. I know that's a thing that makes women swoon (metaphorically this time!)

That reminds me, I wish I had nice forearms.

Your forearms mainly consist of 3 muscles (in a bodybuilding context). The pronators, the supinators, and the brachioradialis. I'm sure you know this as an MD (or MBBS, idefk), but broscience is its own thing.

Other than compound movements that will stimulate those muscles indirectly as @FiveHourMarathon suggested, I suggest targeting those 3 muscle group(s) through isolation movements. Pronated wrist curls, supinated wrist curls, and hammer curls should be enough.

FWIW, I got the most mileage on forearm aesthetics out of hammer curls. Just be aware that they take longer to grow than other muscles, not as difficult as calves but not as easy as biceps. You really won't grow your forearms accidentally by "working out", you need to target them with intent!

Also, forearm aesthetics are strongly influenced by bodyfat % not only size. So be willing to accept the fact that it might take a while to get there. 13.5" forearms with a high bf will look worse than 12.5" forearms at a low bf.

All I ever tried were wrist curls, so I appreciate the detailed advice!

Do you primarily do the big 3 power lifts? Forearms are primarily slow twitch, you'll get more out of activities like climbing, loaded carries, and ring work. A few months of regular bodyweight heavy farmers carries, you'll be checking shirts before you buy them to make sure you can roll the sleeves up!

Thanks for the tip! I'll give it a shot next time I renew my gym subscription haha

Another man objectified for his hands here, but mine are much more surgeon's than labourer's.

I mentioned in another post a couple of weeks ago that I have a soft spot for assymetric facial expressions like smirking. That's probably a bit weird. A certain habit of gaze direction is weirdly charming and could fall under the same assymetry category. Other types of body language and unconsciously expressive gestures too, but it's hard to categorise those.

Confounder to be aware of when discussing this. Halo effect. People might say they really like X in general but it might just be that they like X in a person they are already into, or if the person is already otherwise attractive. Associations apply too.

But anyways. One of the girls I used to see really had a thing for my hands. The amount of times she brought that up was borderline annoying. In heated moments she used to ruin it with some variation of "your hands". She probably had upper body equivalent of a foot fetish. Im sure there is some cynical explanation for this as well. Ive had other girls telling me they want to bite my hands and one actually did it unprompted, so I should probably stay away from heavy machinery. For the record I dont notice anything special about my hands.

The strangest thing I am attracted to in a woman is the skin of her face. More specifically if the skin isn't entirely blemish free. A few very small moles here and there is a plus, but only if they are so small that you can see them if you are less than 2 feet from their face. I think oddly the reason for this is video games and movies. As I was growing up I associated "High definition" content with being able to notice textures in skin. So if someone has a few blemishes they are HD for me.

Women liking hands and forearms is pretty common

Okay George. (You are probably too young to know the Seinfeld reference).

Share a clip or something for more context. Yes, I am too young to have watched (or wanted to watch) Seinfeld

George is a loser. A hand model agency notices him and he starts getting a bunch of attention (including from women) as a result. Then hot coffee is spilled on his hands returning him to being a loser.

I've definitely had girls who both kept stroking my callouses erotically, and girls who found them disgusting. No bites though, have you considered a career as a hand model? You could make a killing selling gloves!

I don't think I have the type of hands that hand model agencies are looking for. Mine are beaten to shit and calloused as well. And that's how it should be. To paraphrase one of the leading bro scientists of our time Dom Mazetti; "Yes you should wear gloves while lifting if you want to give your boyfriend smooth handjobs".

About me: The time I publicly humiliated a guy who was mean-spiritedly teasing a girl when we were all teenagers, multiple girls there later flirted with me about it. (she has a stronger and more regional rural southern US accent vs more generic suburban southern US accent for me and the asshole and everyone else there).

About another: She knew the rules of sudoku a few weeks before but hadn't fully internalized the actual methods of the puzzle to progress past easy/medium. I explained the logic carefully as well as some tricks and seeing her realize it and internalize made for a neat connection.

I don't consider it strange, but I did make a comment to a girl I was on a date with that it was a nice surprise that she enjoyed walking so much. Instead of going to a pub we just walked and talked for a few hours along the coast. The weather wasn't great, but you can never count on the sun coming out here.

The compliment about myself I most fondly remember is when she said "I feel like if a robber broke into the house you could protect me".

walking is, it seems, a unique nootropic and socializer: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28354769

The strangest thing you've found yourself attracted to in someone else?

Large jaws. Think Courtney Hope (Jesse Faden from Control) or Alexis Crystal (NSFW). Expressive, mobile faces (which I think is a common thing to be attracted to).

This is despite my wife having a small jaw and a single facial expression.

Oversized glasses are one of the many artificial nudge/enhancers one can use.

It is an instance of a supra-normal stimulus

https://www.edge.org/response-detail/27203

https://m.fr.aliexpress.com/item/32812104344.html?gatewayAdapt=gloPc2fraMsite

I'm intrigued by your gender neutral comment though. Would you see those oversized glasses on a man face?

Close to zero straight men assume that looks currently.

IMO I think it could enhance a man's look although as usual people have a completely broken idea of what a maximally attractive man looks like.

The strangest thing you've found yourself attracted to in someone else?

I should definitely come back to that question, I am in complete awe with many things that some people do that are quite ineffable yet charming.

Humans are so awkward, imperfect and so fucking lovely.

The best compliment I've received lately was that some of my comments were so semantically dense it were intensely charming. As a semi-sapiosexual that's indeed one of my compliments lifegoal :)

Once someone was immensely impressed by the fact that I carried a phone without a case.

Relatable, at first I was really stressing about it but actually it's quite trivial to not let ur phone fall.

The glasses as a tool to make you more attractive only work if they have non-distorting lenses. I am short-sighted and need an asymmetric focal length configuration and my glasses make my eyes look squished and distorted.

Right although some glasses have nice to have distortions such as a loop effect that makes your eyes appear larger than they are.

You can always wear contact lenses if that annoys you and optionally change the color of your eyes or make them appears reptile or feline like :)

or make them appears reptile or feline like :)

Or the Sharingan from Naruto

That would be so coool :)

Rinegan too!

Who can deny the magnetism of Robert DeNiro in his VR glasses fully defeated and back to picking winners at the end of Casino? It's certainly a striking look.

My mom has worn the same pair (replaced when damaged) of comically large sunglasses for about 30 years (they were the first prescription sunglasses she found that were large and dark enough for her eye comfort. She reports that every 5 to 7 years she gets compliments from much more stylish women.

I mean there's no need to get into stimulus science or whatever, it's simple association. My wife wears big glasses, I like my wife, over ten years I start liking big glasses.

I probably would think men look better in similar glasses, but I don't fuck men so idk if it totally translates, and certainly it's not helpful to those men.