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PaperclipPerfector  1mo ago (text post)   3512 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for September 6, 2026

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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But this is assuming the conclusion. How do we know that the majority of people with faces perceived to be "kind and approachable" actually are "kind and approachable"? How do we know that those two things are correlated at all? Why is that the null hypothesis?

We don't really. I feel that it's true but obviously no one is studying this rigorously.

Appearances definitely matter but it's hard to say how much is clothing and broad gender/racial characteristics. Nevertheless, if I see a guy with a face like this, I'm giving him some space.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikolai_Valuev#/media/File:Valuev-nach-Haye-Fight-2009.jpg

Wow, you're giving some space to the checks notes seven foot tall 324 pound guy? Can you give me some tips on your methods of physiognomick deduction?

Lol. But doesn’t he also have just about the ugliest face you’ve ever seen?

Acromegaly will do that to you.

It's a face that has just about no "beauty", but I wouldn't call it ugly. It's not deformed or anything, just a stereotypical testosterone gopnik face. It has the nobility of a well-formed specimen.

Should also consider that the picture was probably taken in the context where threateningly mugging at the camera is appropriate.

Nevertheless, if I see a guy with a face like this, I'm giving him some space.

Are you "giving him some space" because of his "physiognomy" (i.e. drawing inferences about his psychology from his physical appearance), or because he's built like a brick shithouse and could beat the stuffing out of you if he so chose? Just because the latter is true, doesn't imply that the former is.

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