Has TED culture made academics noticeably better looking, or do they disproportionately pick the good-lookers? A suspiciously large fraction of them, both male and female, are almost movie-star good looking.
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Selection effect. Most academics are in their lab or library devoting themselves to the obscure and unsexy, and look the same. They are never going to tell TED about their work. OTOH Media Lab, in forefront of TED culture, had a fac member who made People 50 Most Beautiful list.
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They're giving talks because they've had some successful experience and have gained expertise. Isn't it well-known that a good-looking person has more opportunities to become succesful in the first place? "Pretty privilege", etc.
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