A Science, Pseudoscience Or Art? (Mere Mortals Episode #86 - Physiognomy)

Can we actually predict the innate character/personality of someone, solely based on their face? Juan and Kyrin try and answer this question in this themed episode of 'Physiognomy'. The definition of physiognomy is hard to pin down, explaining why it actually appears to be a combination of science, pseudoscience and art. The debate also gets muddled due to the underlying nature vs nurture argument that rears its head after sufficient discussion.

This led to a more practical discussion on whether judging people based on their appearance is useful. Whilst we all do this to some degree or another (i.e., consciously or subconsciously) it really does appear that context is the determinant for utility. In the future we may find that this subject becomes more relevant as AI and data-driven analysis of facial features (taken from Facebook for example) allow us to statistically prove that certain people's exteriors infer a greater propensity for certain actions, whether good, bad or neutral. As always, we hope you enjoy, Mere Mortals out!

Timeline:

0:00 - Introduction

1:14 - Mere Mortal Moments

4:52 - Definition and etymology of physiognomy

7:21 - Is it a science, pseudoscience or art?

14:23 - Nature vs nurture and tighter definition

21:13 - Judging a book by its cover, is it useful?

28:12 - Context is everything

33:00 - Conscious vs subconscious judging

36:11 - AI and physiognomy

43:54 - How to make physiognomy a real science

49:09 - Trump has the eyes of a blue whale!

51:26 - Outro and the physiognomy of the Mere Mortals

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Striving for excellence through life's lessons. Daily uploads @ 5pm AEST. 4M's, Book Reviews, Musings, Bonus, Meanderings, Interviews & Themed Podcast.

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