Ask Ethan: Why don’t you look like a scientist?
And why you shouldn’t even be asking a question like that.
“If we cannot now end our differences, at least we can help make the world safe for diversity.” -John F. Kennedy
If you’re the kind of person who doesn’t like it when people defy your expectations, or if you’re a fan of judging a book exclusively by its cover, you might be tempted to question whether someone is qualified to do what they do based solely on their appearance. Even if someone proves themselves by doing a quality job within their area of expertise, you might admonish them, either privately or publicly, for not conforming to your expectations of what they ought to be. Such was the case with this week’s Ask Ethan, courtesy of Abdul Basit Khakwany via Facebook, who asked:
Why do you, Mr. Ethan Siegel … look quite odd and non-serious, whereas you are a great scientific intellectual? A fly might enter your mouth.
As you can tell by my photo atop the page, or by my Facebook profile photo (below), I don’t exactly conform to the stereotype of how a scientist ought to look.
