What's happening?

Rashid al-Haddad is a pirate from YemenThe poorest country in the Gulf region is in the midst of a humanitarian crisis. . He posted a video on TikTokA Chinese social media company featuring short videos with one billion monthly users. . He wanted people to fear him. But instead they are just talking about his good looks.

Beautiful people are often remembered for their looks rather than their actions. Often, it does not matter whether their actions were good or bad.

Jesse JamesA 19th Century American outlaw, bank and train robber and gang leader. was a robber who murdered people. But films often show him as a hero.

Humans use looks as an instantStraight away. way of learning about someone. Expert Robert Cialdini points out that we often think good-looking people are kind, clever and talented - even though that may not be true.

But others say looks do not really matter. For example, Napoleon BonaparteThe French military commander and political leader who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led successful campaigns during the Revolutionary Wars.'s laws and wars changed the world. But he was known in his lifetime for looking very normal.

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Do looks matter?

Yes! It is one thing we know about ourselves: we constantly think about how we and others look. We are more likely to think good things about good-looking people. Just like life, it is unfair.

No! You can be powerful and successful without being good-looking. Think of the leaders of the world today. Most of them look very averageTypical or usual. .