A Gaussian distribution plots all of its values in a symmetrical fashion and demonstrates that data near the mean are more frequent in occurrence than data far from the mean.
This is what a normal distribution looks like:
My previous understanding of physical attractiveness was predicated on the idea that men's perceived attraction was normally distributed, meaning that most men cluster around the average and a few men gravitate towards the extremes.
It turns out that I was wrong. According to OkCupid's statistics, roughly 80% of men are rated as below average in looks.
While men's ratings were normalized, women rated an enormous amount of men as unattractive. This trend is common on popular dating apps and it generalizes to real life as well, though to a lesser extent because women don't have as many options outside of the internet.
A distribution that encapsulates women's perceived attraction looks like this:
While a distribution that encapsulates men's perceived attraction looks like this:
With the advent of social media and dating apps, women's standards have reached astronomical levels. Now about 1/3 of the male population is sexless. The average man is disposable to women.
This is what a normal distribution looks like:
My previous understanding of physical attractiveness was predicated on the idea that men's perceived attraction was normally distributed, meaning that most men cluster around the average and a few men gravitate towards the extremes.
It turns out that I was wrong. According to OkCupid's statistics, roughly 80% of men are rated as below average in looks.
A distribution that encapsulates women's perceived attraction looks like this:
While a distribution that encapsulates men's perceived attraction looks like this:
With the advent of social media and dating apps, women's standards have reached astronomical levels. Now about 1/3 of the male population is sexless. The average man is disposable to women.
