(I’m liveblogging from TED 2008, in Monterey, CA)
Presenter:
(My old Wired pal and now TED producer) June Cohen presenting on behalf of Nancy Etcoff, who fell ill and could not present.
Nancy Etcof is author of Survival of the Prettiest. Beauty matters to us. We respond to beauty physically, we describe things “jaw dropping,” “breathtaking,” “stunning.” We feel happy when surrounded by beautiful things. But why?
The dominant idea in 20th century was that beauty was a social construction. But many studies point to an innate sense of beauty that’s consistent across cultures. Infants at 2 weeks respond better to beautiful faces (even babies are shallow!).
Why do we think that certain things are beautiful? Because our ancestors did; it connotes an advantage to survival and reproduction.
When people are asked to describe a beautiful landscape they say the same thing: lake, river, mountain trees. We evolved to think it is beautiful becuase it is safe with escape routes.
When asked to describe beautiful people: clear skin, bright eyes, shiny hair — all of these things connote health fertility, protection.
Beauty is not everything, only one factor in choosing mate – intelligence, how they move, sense of humor, are important.
If we can understand and accept our attraction for beauty we can manage it and temper our desire for it.