What would you prefer being smarter or better looking?

[noname223]

This is a tough question for me.

I often have the wish that I was smarter. Just for my ego. Intelligence and education are part of my last remaining self-esteem. Maybe I would have better opportunities for a job. Though I think I would still be too fragile and vulnerable for a normal job. Maybe I could learn programming if I was smarter. However I absolutely have no real interest in understading IT.

Being more attractive/better looking also had adavantages. Maybe I had more success with women. Though my paranoia and OCD behavior would probably still fuck it up. I try not be too superficial and vain.

I think both would not be a game changer for me. Maybe I would prefer being smarter. However I am not sure how much this would improve my life quality.

Which one would you prefer?

 

[Oblivion Access]

I don't know, both are kind of double-edged sword in a way. I'm considered intelligent yet I can't handle basic tasks to the point it's comical how useless I can be, I'm also persistently unmotivated to pursue anything that won't get me high or dead. I feel like becoming smarter might just make me even more alienated and desperate to die, or maybe I'm not smart enough to see how I'd benefit from being smarter .

I'm sure being attractive (if you're into that sort of thing, transgenders with their ideology amirite) has allowed me to get away with a lot of shit I didn't even realize and attracted people to me with little effort on my part, but my lack of socialization, selfishness, avoidance of people and self-destructiveness ensure any interpersonal relationship I have won't be around long. I don't really see how becoming more attractive solves anything for me, it'd just be feeding my own vanity given I don't see people anyway.

Assuming being smarter would let me improve things for myself or (more importantly) others in a way I cannot foresee, go for that I guess. If I keep my current neuroses and motivation level, being smarter and therefore more aware while remaining trapped in my head just sounds like extra torture. I'd much rather take "ability to go 24hrs w/o thinking about drugs/suicide" or "ability to initiate interaction or ask for help without feeling like a burden".

 

[Al Cappella]

Oh that's an easy one—I'll take smart any day of the week. Looks are way overrated, and don't last nearly as long as brains. There's just so much more you can do with intelligence…

 

[Message In A Bottle]

My body dysmorphia says better looks but my brain says to be smarter

 

[lofticries]

Smarter so I can make money longer. Also being smart will probably give me a full proof and pain free plan to ctb if I'm unhappy.

 

[FuneralCry]

I would personally prefer to not exist at all, when I am dead nothing can hurt me. Life is only suffering. I would choose to be smarter, but of course it would not matter that much as life is completely meaningless, we will all die and be forgotten someday, but maybe life would be more bearable for me. I have very low intelligence and bad concentration. I do not think that looks mean much, it would not take away suffering. It would probably make me feel worse if I was physically beautiful.

 

[WorthlessTrash]

Good looking (opposite sex). I'll worry about gaining knowledge myself as that is something I actually can control.

 

[Starylain001]

Being healthy.

 

[Hercules]

Definitely being smarter. Some attractive people can get by in life on their looks alone when they are younger, but looks slowly fade as you get older. When you are no longer attractive, if you don't have any intelligence, you will be stuck and get nowhere in life. If you are intelligent, at least you will always be able to get ahead in life.

 

[pikku.tiikeri]

Wisdom over vanity any day.

 

[Dr Iron Arc]

I'd prefer to be better looking. Smart doesn't seem to get anything except more awareness about how much everything sucks and how stupid everyone else is. Might as well get all the status of being higher than normal people by being hotter than them.

That said I'm not very smart either right now so maybe that makes my answer automatically wrong.

 

[Squiddy]

Smarter. I feel dumb as hell with my cognition issues and I'm not really getting far in life with my looks

 

[gottablast888]

im smart and sexy and still want to ctb. i would prefer being healthy and not mentally ill

 

[onlyanimalsaregood]

Being healthy.

Same

 

[ColorlessTrees]

Beauty is the only thing that matters to me in the world, of course. But theoretically intelligence = better shot at education = higher paying job = money to *make* myself beautiful through modifications, surgical or not. Intelligence could get me both if I knew how to consult the right people as well as draw from my own pool of knowledge. This works best with an average base, though. I'm not intelligent nor average, so obviously I'd choose beauty.

But intelligence comes in many different forms, imo. It depends on which one we're talking about.

 

[fox_wannabe]

Now I would choose being better looking If I could add to my looks without loosing much brain. Thinking more and using more brain never helped me in anything.
Being better looking would be a blessing.

 

[Wantogonow]

I would go with being smarter but I don't think it would have made life any better I just be more aware of how bad my head is f**ked

 

[Angst Filled Fuck Up]

im smart and sexy

Me too, it's so hard to pick. I guess I'll flip a coin.

 

[death137]

Better looking

 

[T90-Alpha]

I would rather have better social skills, than either of the two options

 

[Enigmatic Sailor]

More intelligent, then I would use my smarts to create the ideal looks on my person's and manipulate people into thinking I'm a supermodel. GENIUS!

 

[Pencil+Ink]

It's weird seeing everyone say smarter. I don't mean this as a brag, I'd rather anything else. I'm borderline genius and I constantly wish that I wasn't as smart as I am because I swear it's the root for so many of my problems. Sure, I'd like to be above average, but not this much. It's just lonely. So, I'd go looks, only to avoid being any more clever.

 

[Nolan96]

Better looking. It'd add more stability to my life, which is all I want right now. Being more intelligent could do that, or push me in the other direction and make me spiral even more out of control.

 

[MellowAvenue]

Better looking but I've seen this question before and the answer really depends on my mood more than anything.

 

[chocolatebar]

I would personally prefer to not exist at all, when I am dead nothing can hurt me. Life is only suffering. I would choose to be smarter, but of course it would not matter that much as life is completely meaningless, we will all die and be forgotten someday, but maybe life would be more bearable for me. I have very low intelligence and bad concentration. I do not think that looks mean much, it would not take away suffering. It would probably make me feel worse if I was physically beautiful.

I think it's the second time I see you saying something like that. It make me intrigued, because I always held you as someone smart and you perceive yourself as having a "very low intelligence". There's a great distance between these perceptions.

Would you mind talking about it? Do you think you could do something you can't right now if you were smarter? Why do you think life would be more bearable?

I would rather have better social skills, than either of the two options

I can't agree more. If we look at the people who enjoy life, what do they have in common?

If life was an rpg game, I would simply put all my points in social skills. This game isn't well balanced.

 

[FuneralCry]

I think it's the second time I see you saying something like that. It make me intrigued, because I always held you as someone smart and you perceive yourself as having a "very low intelligence". There's a great distance between these perceptions.

Would you mind talking about it? Do you think you could do something you can't right now if you were smarter? Why do you think life would be more bearable?

I am certainly not smart. I am the opposite. Things that other people find easy have always been difficult for me. I think that being smarter would have made my life more bearable in the past, as my low intelligence meant that I found education very difficult. Being able to concentrate much better may mean that I might be able to distract myself from my suffering more. Sometimes I even find reading quite difficult.

 

[Marine]

Better looking.

 

[chocolatebar]

Things that other people find easy have always been difficult for me

I remember you mentioning you're autistic, am I right? It's normal for us to have difficulty with things people do with ease...
I'm autistic as well, although they classified it as mild. However, it's enough to understand a bit of your pain.

Have you been forcing yourself to do things like the other people do? It usually only gets us frustrated. We have to do things in our own way.

And about school... they're definitely not designed for people like us. You don't have to feel bad for having had difficulties with it.

The way you talk about life, nature and the horrors of existence... the way you construct your arguments... you do it very well and I hold my perception of you as someone smart.

 

[FuneralCry]

I remember you mentioning you're autistic, am I right? It's normal for us to have difficulty with things people do with ease...
I'm autistic as well, although they classified it as mild. However, it's enough to understand a bit of your pain.

Have you been forcing yourself to do things like the other people do? It usually only gets us frustrated. We have to do things in our own way.

And about school... they're definitely not designed for people like us. You don't have to feel bad for having had difficulties with it.

The way you talk about life, nature and the horrors of existence... the way you construct your arguments... you do it very well and I hold my perception of you as someone smart.

Yes, I am autistic. I do not do much these days, I simply cannot do what other people do, I do not want to, I cannot live at all and that is just the way that things are. I do not feel bad about school any more, it was years ago, it is all just a memory now, education is very pointless. And thank you, of course I do not see myself as being good at writing, but I wish you the best.

 

[chocolatebar]

Yes, I am autistic. I do not do much these days, I simply cannot do what other people do, I do not want to, I cannot live at all and that is just the way that things are. I do not feel bad about school any more, it was years ago, it is all just a memory now, education is very pointless. And thank you, of course I do not see myself as being good at writing, but I wish you the best.

Oh, @FuneralCry... if only I could give you a real life hug... slow, delicate and warm. But I don't even know if you'd like it.