Do You Judge a Book By It's Cover?

starbelgrade

The significance of appearances... how much do you put stock in how people present themselves?

I try not to place too much emphasis on how people look, but I think it's pretty much human nature that a lot of the time, we judge people by just that - at least on a first meeting.

It could be easy to say that this is conditioning, but even babies - who have no preconceptions or prejudices - react better to good looking people (I read that somewhere!).

The good thing I suppose, is that often these preconceptions turn out to be wrong - in my experience, not every tracksuited, ronnie wearing, gel-stuck-to-his-head bloke is a scumbie, not every bleach blonde, tangoed girl is a bimbo & not every suit wearing estate agent is a total wanker. So that's all good.

The only thing I've found though, is that every guy I've ever met who likes to wear a combination of beige trousers & light blue shirt / Lacrosse polo shirt, has turned out to be a complete tossbag.

So do you judge a book by it's cover, and if so, in what way / ways?

Chuck Stone

I guess it's natural to judge a book by it's cover because the first impression we get of a person is through our eyes.

Actually if people didn't judge books by their covers then books wouldn't have fancy covers!

staker

Every time I see your name Starbelgrade,I see hooligans:o

Saila

only in a first impression kind of way which will be quickly changed if need be when you talk to them usually
really ;P but a first impression is just that, a first IMPRESSION.

poll would be good too

jive

I do. 90% of the time you are right. You can judge a person pretty well just by looking at them regardless of what people like to believe. There are obviously times when you will be completely off the mark though and realise this almost instantaneously when you engage in conversation with the person. I don't mean "that scumbag was pretty sound for a scumbag" when he's still a scumbag.

Having said all that, I don't really care about what people are like as long as they don't hassle me. Judging them is me just observing people but I don't think I'm any better or any worse than them. I'm sure people judge me all the time and I'll tell you something for free; a wise man once told me that haters are gonna hate, benders gonna bend and dudes gonna dude. I'd rather big myself up than put others down by judging them.

http://lifeafterhavingalife.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/haters-gonna-hate.gif?w=480

johnmcdnl

http://img43.imageshack.us/img43/3639/pimpcanesmedium.jpg

tell me how not to judge them by the cover :rolleyes:

Jess16

starbelgrade wrote: »

The good thing I suppose, is that often these preconceptions turn out to be wrong not every tracksuited, ronnie wearing bloke is a scumbie, not every bleach blonde, tangoed girl is a bimbo & not every suit wearing estate agent is a total wanker

But how many orange jumpsuit wearers are likely to be minus a conviction?

Hank_Jones

Depends on the cover really.

If I see an absolute knacker, dirty horrible scumbag, most likely, I'm going to think they are that.

Apart from that I wouldn't.

grenache

Papa used always say "hoops on the ears, wheels on the house". From my experience, papa was right!

Einhard

It's really weird, but I subconsciously judge people by their names. I don't do so purposely, but I have a visceral reaction against those of a certain name. My reaction to a name manifests entirely by the character of the first person I knew by that name. For example, and without naming names as it were, I knew a horrible girl by a certain name when I was younger, and all the girls I've met since have had to struggle against that preconception. On the other hand, I've liked a girl by name X since I was a young un. Another girl by the same name has made it her mission to make my name hell, but I still love the name, because it reminds me of the original girl.

Saila

simple test:

you're waiting at a bus stop dont know when the next one is and there are three others there

a propper junkie type [really obvious]
a guy in a suit
a guy in sports gear

which one do you ask?

if you said 2 ok grand
if you said 3 you are lying
if you said 1 you are judging
if you said none you are a really anxious person probably

Bipolar Joe

How are you judging if you ask a junkie when a bus will arrive?

Saila

Bipolar Joe wrote: »

How are you judging if you ask a junkie when a bus will arrive?

you're not thats the whole point, and most wont ask him if there are others there

Storminateacup

I judge the fugg out of everyone, it's a luxury your afforded when your perfect, you see.

Bipolar Joe

Saila wrote: »

not sure what you mean, can you re-phrase that?

Number one is a junkie, and if you ask him when a bus will arrive, as opposed to asking a bloke in a suit or a skobe, then you're "judging a book by it's cover". I don't get it . Are junkies notorious for memorising bus timetables?

cesc77

Einhard wrote: »

It's really weird, but I subconsciously judge people by their names. I don't do so purposely, but I have a visceral reaction against those of a certain name. My reaction to a name manifests entirely by the character of the first person I knew by that name. For example, and without naming names as it were, I knew a horrible girl by a certain name when I was younger, and all the girls I've met since have had to struggle against that preconception. On the other hand, I've liked a girl by name X since I was a young un. Another girl by the same name has made it her mission to make my name hell, but I still love the name, because it reminds me of the original girl.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=72654295

Saila

Bipolar Joe wrote: »

Number one is a junkie, and if you ask him when a bus will arrive, as opposed to asking a bloke in a suit or a skobe, then you're "judging a book by it's cover". I don't get it . Are junkies notorious for memorising bus timetables?

PS you judged the guy in sports gear to be a scobe..

Storminateacup

The junkie probably wouldn't know his own name never mind what time the bus was supposed to arrive at.

The man in the suit is probably a prick.

The guy in tracksuits (is the socks pulled up over the leg) would probably mug me.

It's a moot point though, I don't use buses so I'd walk past them all.

B_Fanatic

Prejudice is a defence mechanism of the human mind. When you're out in the wild and you get stung by a bee, you're going to think, "Oh crap, a bee. Better not touch that," every time you see one. Same goes for races and fashion sense, it's a purely human response for the purposes of defence.

My name is URL

I usually judge books by reading the last page.

If only it was so easy with people

strobe

Probably the only thing my parents insisted I obey was that I judge people by their actions first. I have never been so grateful for any gift I have ever been given than that. I genuinely pity people so much when I meet them and all there friends are just like them. How boring.

Overheal

Saila wrote: »

you're not thats the whole point, and most wont ask him if there are others there

Please, the 'junkies' will know the most about the schedule and be the nicest about it. The guy in the suit got in that suit and where he is today by being a dick. Don't trust the suit. He'd take all your money and leave you for dead if he thought it would help him but instead of mugging you he does it through white collar crime, that D-bag.

Ask the ****ing junkie.

flutterflye

I always judge people on first meeting.
But not based on how they look, what they say, or how they act.
I base it on what vibes I get off of them.
I don't intentionally do it, it just happens.
I have only ever been wrong about a person once, and that was more to do with the place I was in at the time.

Irish Guitarist

I didn't judge anyone by how they looked until a few years ago when I noticed that almost everyone that tucks their tracksuit into their socks is a scumbag. This actually started because I used to have long hair and all these tracksuit clad morons would shout abuse at me, asking if I was a "boy or a girl" or telling me to "get a haircut". As so many of them were judging me by how I looked I felt I was justified in judging them back.

I don't think everyone that wears a tracksuit is necessarily a scumbag. However when the tracksuit is tucked into a pair of socks the likelihood of them being a scumbag increases.

Logical Fallacy

johnmcdnl wrote: »

http://img43.imageshack.us/img43/3639/pimpcanesmedium.jpg

tell me how not to judge them by the cover :rolleyes:

Everytime i see that pic i get a bit dissapointed that whoever made it couldn't even stick to the standard Demo rules.

When it comes to judging people i tend to add what they are wearing with how they are carrying themselves. I've noticed a lot of lads about 24-25 years of age running around in their Penny's suits with all the attitude of a man wearing Armani, so i tend to assume those guys are ****ing morons.

AnneElizabeth

You can't not judge a person upon first glance, it's human nature.