Do you feel pretty? Well, do ya, punk?
Via Echidne originally, I give you Geoffrey Miller, Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of New Mexico, who tweeted before thinking twice, or even once, really. I kind of liked the first comment at Get Off My Internets, which reads “[w]ell, he’s in evo psych. Of course he’s a d!ckhead.”
Since when are academics concerned about appearance? (And why on earth should we be?) Although I sometimes lament the fact that History proffies are not generally known for our stylish good looks, it sure keeps the bar low for those of us who try, even a little bit. (But I get it that that makes me merely Washington pretty, right? As in Hollywood ugly=Washington pretty, as in Washington, D.C. is Hollywood for ugly people?)
I thought this deleted (but not deleted fast enough!) tweet was a useful follow-up to the conversation some of us have been having this week about ethics for academics using Web 2.0. Joe Adelman added some thoughts of his own in a blog post at Common-Place, and you don’t have to be a member or log in to read the comments on his post! In any case, it makes an interesting lesson about shooting one’s mouth off and the professional and personal blowback that may result from one thoughtless tweet.
Discuss. Or just click “play” and enjoy “I Feel Pretty,” with Natalie Wood.