Eric Scheske wrote last year about the problems with plastic surgery and computer enhancements. Link. Most of his points were based on common sense. A new study on doctored photos has corroborated much of his analysis. Excerpt:
It is noteworthy that a combination of features as depicted on these morphed photographs is impossible to find in any of living people. A human face can be wrinkless if only it is a digitalized picture. There are no perfect eyebrows, eyes or lips either. One may thus conclude that the woman on this picture is an absolutely unnatural, albeit a beautiful individual. Natural beauty cannot compete with digital perfection: the latter always wins, although it does not exist in reality. The top five of the computer pageant was made of only digital pictures. Furthermore, 79 percent of original male faces and 70 percent of original female faces were described as "not pretty" or even "ugly."
We may thus infer that the majority of people have absolutely unreal requirements in their estimations of other people's physical attractiveness. Everyone will probably agree that they never see such beautiful people in the streets, although there are more than enough gorgeous faces on magazine covers and make-up commercials. People are therefore forced to compare living individuals with digitalized images of handsome men and amazingly beautiful women on television and on the Internet. If someone sees a paparazzi picture of a movie star without make up on, they usually think: "Oh my God, she looks so terrible."
Modern people with their standards of beauty run risks of losing the battle with perfect computer images and fall a victim to non-existent perfection. In addition, German scientists concluded that there was a certain stereotype in perceiving a beautiful person. People think that beautiful individuals are talented, creative and sensitive; that they have an ability to exert a positive influence on others. Those, who have not so pretty, or absolutely unpretty faces, are usually perceived as people who cannot boast of such qualities and traits - just an instant visual contact is enough to conclude so. Unattractive people are usually perceived as someone unhappy, malcontent, presumptuous, stupid and exhausted with their own lives.
Link.
Are you a guy salivating over the woman on the left? If so, this picture oughtta give you the willies:
