Would you rather be smart or attractive?

Option 1: your IQ increases 2 standard deviations, everything else stays the same

Option 2: you become what most people would consider a 9/10 aesthetically, everything else stays the same (and nobody questions why you suddenly look different)

Tough Call. With IQ you have to Use said IQ to achieve your goals and keep others from taking away it away from you.

With Attractiveness. You can get success pretty much just Handed to you. Sure you have to PUT OUT on occasion but still....

I think I would take IQ. Just for the Challenge and thrill of it. And not having to Fark with some Ugly People to get what I want.

IQ. I'm pretty happy with how I look already, fixing my aesthetic flaws naturally would be much easier than increasing my IQ.

I wonder if you would feel the same after you get the "IQ" Cure.

You know...once you learn that your mother was lying to you about being Good Looking.

Originally posted by BackFire
IQ. I'm pretty happy with how I look already, fixing my aesthetic flaws naturally would be much easier than increasing my IQ.

As a general rule, it's hard to say really. On one hand, I'm not really so ambitious that I feel I need a higher IQ than I have, and being extraordinarily attractive would probably be more useful in several areas of life than it seems at face value. On the other hand, in the case of this thread, two standard deviations... that's no joke. Like BackFire said, at least with your physical appearance there's various alternative means of addressing it... the option of magically becoming a genius definitely seems like more of an opportunity.

I feel this thread could be improved by lowering the IQ increase to 1 standard deviation. As it stands you'd either have to be retarded (so that you'd still be unexceptional with the INT buff) or hideous (so that being a 9/10 is worth the INT buff) to pass it up.

Originally posted by NewGuy01
As a general rule, it's hard to say really. On one hand, I'm not really so ambitious that I feel I need a higher IQ than I have, and being extraordinarily attractive would probably be more useful in several areas of life than it seems at face value. On the other hand, in the case of this thread, two standard deviations... that's no joke. Like BackFire said, at least with your physical appearance there's various alternative means of addressing it... the option of magically becoming a genius definitely seems like more of an opportunity.

I feel this thread could be improved by lowering the IQ increase to 1 standard deviation. As it stands you'd either have to be retarded (so that you'd still be unexceptional with the INT buff) or hideous (so that being a 9/10 is worth the INT buff) to pass it up.

Honestly though I feel like even a retarded person would find... not being retarded preferable to being 9/10

Originally posted by Emperordmb
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Honestly though I feel like even a retarded person would find... not being retarded preferable to being 9/10

I'm not so sure. There's risks involved, but I suspect that someone that is dumb but very attractive is more likely to be successful than someone who is unremarkable both in intelligence and appearance.

Originally posted by Emperordmb
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Honestly though I feel like even a retarded person would find... not being retarded preferable to being 9/10

One way to find out, ask h1a8 which one he'd pick.

The extraordinary is in what we do, not who we are

Originally posted by NewGuy01
I'm not so sure. There's risks involved, but I suspect that someone that is dumb but very attractive is more likely to be successful than someone who is unremarkable both in intelligence and appearance.

No, not really. Especially not if we're dealing with someone who is clinically retarded, as opposed to someone who's just dumb. I'm just saying that it may still be in their best interest to do so, as opposed to someone who could become truly exceptional by going up some 30-odd IQ points.

Also worth mentioning that your good looks will deteriorate in time with age, intelligence won't.

For the record, I'd take the IQ boost

Originally posted by BackFire
Also worth mentioning that your good looks will deteriorate in time with age, intelligence won't.

Alzheimer's
Senility

True, but those are no guarantee. Physically aging is.

Originally posted by NewGuy01
I feel this thread could be improved by lowering the IQ increase to 1 standard deviation.

Funnily enough I was about to say this myself.

I'd take the 2-STD in a heartbeat - that would probably give me good odds to make a groundbreaking advancement in my profession and drastically open up the set of things I can accomplish. It would change *everything*.

One standard deviation is tougher, but frankly I'd still probably take the intelligence boost. It's just a more diverse benefit. From a purely selfish standpoint it would be a difficult choice though.

Originally posted by NewGuy01
I'm not so sure. There's risks involved, but I suspect that someone that is dumb but very attractive is more likely to be successful than someone who is unremarkable both in intelligence and appearance.

The high-attractiveness/low-IQ would probably make both extreme success and extreme failure more likely.

Gonna go with IQ, tbh.

IQ is overrated, I’d rather be a magnet for swarthy males

Originally posted by BackFire
True, but those are no guarantee. Physically aging is.

I guess i’d go for smart, for the gell of it.
Being long time married and retired, i dont really need either, but smart might be fun to screw around with, tinkering and backyard inventing.

I'm smart and beautiful... Lucky I guess.