The science of knowing people by looking at their faces.

Because pretty face has basically become a trump card, appearance association has become the largest, most widely distributed and oldest social organization in all mankind. I believe you can find friends who judge a book by its cover. In fact, since ancient times, the bad habit of "telling things by looking at their faces" has not changed.

You might expect a great philosopher to ignore appearances and see the depths of our souls, but ancient Greek thinkers, like fortune tellers in China, were surprisingly meticulous in their faces. Aristotle thought that people with thick lips would be stupid, like donkeys with thick lips, while people with thin lips, like lions with thin lips, would be proud. People with soft hair are weak, while those with hard hair are brave and fearless.

Today, when I meet a stranger, many people still guess his character mainly from his face and clothes. This preference for "looking at faces" has been proved to be an automatic retrieval response of the brain. The brain can judge whether a face looks good or not in less than 13 milliseconds, and "observing words and observing colors" can be regarded as a powerful skill acquired in the process of human evolution. So, is it scientific to tell things by looking at their faces?

Genetically shaped appearance

Before figuring out this problem, we might as well see who shaped our appearance. Statues have their own sculptors, and our appearance also has some "knife holders", such as genes and hormones. Genes are not sloppy in shaping faces. So far, researchers have identified five candidate genes related to different faces, which can explain why the appearance is so different. Tens of thousands of enhancer sequence fragments in junk DNA are closely related to the size of eyes, the straightness of nose and the shape of skull.

In addition to genes, hormones are also masters of beauty shaping. For example, testosterone secreted during adolescence may affect several physical characteristics, such as skull shape, muscle development and bone density.

Genes and hormones polish our faces like sculptors. Face, as their achievement, will reflect whether they are qualified sculptors. In other words, facial features and skin color often reflect whether a person is normal or not. Therefore, "judge a person by his appearance" also has certain rationality. So, what secrets will the face reveal?

People with wide faces are more suitable to be leaders.

A long time ago, researchers found that capuchin monkeys with wider faces may rank higher in the group hierarchy. This phenomenon of "looking at faces" in the animal kingdom inspired scientists. Will human society also have such a broad complex?

In order to find out the relationship between face width and identity and power, researchers at Rollins College in the United States selected the facial features of CEOs of 55 companies, measured the face width, and then compared the return on assets of their respective companies. The results show that those CEOs with wide faces make the company's profits 65,438+00% higher than those with narrow faces, and their social status is also higher.

Some researchers have specially studied the facial contours of 29 successive presidents in the United States, and found that presidents who have achieved great things are often people with wide faces. For example, herbert hoover has the highest aspect ratio of 2.30; The lowest is Woodrow Wilson, only 1.78. But this is not a narrow face, only 1.6 is a narrow face.

People with wide faces are often associated with leadership temperament. What is the scientific basis for this? In further research, the researchers found that men with wider faces and more prominent cheekbones had higher testosterone levels. Testosterone is a kind of male hormone, and testosterone is a kind of adrenal gland, which can make people full of energy and vitality. Temperament, they will be very confident, and sometimes even aggressive, which is a good trait.

Full cheeks are prone to illness.

After a serious illness, our faces are often pale, but when we are sick, they are often sallow. Our health is often projected on our faces like a projector. So, what's the difference between a fat face and a thin face?

To be sure, people who eat meat are not necessarily unhealthy. The key is where the fat grows. For example, pear-shaped, people's fat mainly accumulates in the buttocks and thighs, and the upper body is not fat and the lower body is fat. They will be healthier than those with fat belly and apple-shaped bodies. Because the abdomen is close to the core organs of the human body such as the chest, these adipose tissues will release some inflammatory molecules that destroy these organs, leading to inflammation, so this part of fat will be more dangerous than the fat that grows under the body. People with fat faces are usually people with fat trunks, which just shows that fat is in the wrong place.

The researchers also found that if a person's face is unusually plump, it means that fat is also accumulated on his stomach and deposited in more harmful areas, which is a dangerous warning of poor health, so people often say that fat people are weak. People with thin skin don't have to worry about this. Face-lifting reflects that people's fat content does not exceed the standard and is unlikely to be attacked by diseases. Even if you are unfortunate enough to get sick, your illness will be mild. Mental health is often closely related to physical health, and the incidence of depression is low in people with thin faces.

Golden skin is the healthiest.

The skin itself is an organ, the outermost organ of the immune system. Compared with the heart, brain and other important organs, skin is less important for human survival, but it is our first line of defense against infection and harmful bacteria, and it is also an important clue given by the body after the occurrence of diseases.

Generally speaking, doctors think that blond hair is healthier. Although this color is not very popular with China people who like snow-white skin color, it just reflects our health. When we eat enough carotenoids, these pigments will be stored in the skin layer by layer, and then the skin will be dyed golden yellow. Carotenoids are elements that can be found in orange and red fruits and vegetables. They are important "guardians" of our immune system. When the skin is golden yellow, it means that the carotenoids used to maintain the health of the immune system in our body have not been consumed, which means that there is no virus to attack.

Flushing can make a woman look attractive, but it doesn't mean health. Maybe you got sunburned on a trip to the seaside, or maybe you just appeared after drinking too much. A pinkish face is a sign of health. This red color indicates an active lifestyle, and may also be a sign of women's fertility, because the increase of estrogen will lead to a slight expansion of blood vessels in the cheeks, forming a faint blush.

Personality will also affect the face value.

Facial features and skin color will determine a person's face value, and a person's personality and values will also be reflected in his face to some extent. Oscar Wilde, an Irish aesthete in the19th century, wrote a novel called dorian gray. The hero of the novel is a handsome man and a tragic figure. In order to be young and beautiful forever, he sold his kindness and soul to the devil, killing and setting fire to all evils. When he finally realized his mistake, his handsome face became old and he died of old age. This story shows that a beautiful face is not as important as a kind soul. This leads to the face effect called Dorian Gray in medicine, which means that as a person grows older, he will gradually reveal his personality that was not revealed when he was young, and these personalities will add points to his appearance. For example, from the age of 30, people who are more easygoing and distinctive will become more and more attractive, and in their 50 s, they will look better than those who are born with beauty. This may be because a person's inner peace and self-confidence will be subtly reflected in his face, and his temperament will add points to his face value.

Therefore, it is not only the internal DNA and hormones that determine our appearance, but also the truth of "poetic". People who don't have the advantage of appearance might as well work hard on temperament and character.

This article comes from the magazine article No.9, 20 16, New Theory of Big Science and Technology. Readers are welcome to pay attention to the micro signal of our big technology: hdkj 1997?