Very interesting article that I came across as I was cleaning out my inbox. Apparently, my proclamation that I look better in person is not true at all:
You hate photographs of yourself, don't you? A tiny minority of people are terribly photogenic (I recall one girl in high school who was maybe a 7 in person, but a 9.75 in an 8X10 glossy) and like having their pictures taken; everyone else in the world is convinced that they don't photograph particularly well.
A cognitive scientist at the University of Chicago explained why to me last winter. When we look at ourselves in the mirror, in any given session we tend to anchor on the time slice image that makes us look our best. That, we decide, is the "real" us.
So, apparently this entire time I was making eyes at myself in the mirror, it was only me that found me
attractive.
I have some saving grace, though:
[Your significant other] is probably the best gauge of how attractive you are; how attractive are the hottest people who want to go out with you? They're probably only slightly more attractive than you are.
So, either I am attractive or lucky. I choose lucky (with a dash of charming).
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