問(wèn)題 The Question

　　I've been interviewing candidates for a research job and have had a very good shortlist. The two frontrunners are both excellent - they seem bright and keen and hardworking. One is reasonably good-looking; the other is exceedingly plain - obese and with bad skin. The role is not client- facing so looks should not matter. Yet I find myself inclined to hire the person who looks more prepossessing - which is unfair as the plain one surely needs a break. What should I do?

　　我在為一項(xiàng)研究工作面試候選人，并有了一份非常好的入圍名單。兩位候選人都非常優(yōu)秀——他們看起來(lái)聰明、熱情而且勤奮。其中一位容貌出眾;另一位則過(guò)于難看——比較胖，而且皮膚不好。招聘的職位不是面向客戶的，因此長(zhǎng)相并不重要。不過(guò)我發(fā)現(xiàn)自己傾向于聘用那個(gè)看起來(lái)更討人喜歡的家伙——這有失公平，因?yàn)殚L(zhǎng)相難看的人肯定也需要機(jī)會(huì)。我該怎么辦呢?

　　經(jīng)理，女性，38歲 Manager, female, 38

　　露西的回答 Lucy's Answer

　　You should hire the fat and spotty one. This is not because you feel he (or she?) deserves a break - it isn't your job to play social engineer. It is because he is almost certainly better at the job than the one who is easier on the eye.

　　你應(yīng)該聘用那個(gè)臉上長(zhǎng)滿粉刺的胖子。這不是因?yàn)槟阌X(jué)得他(或她?)應(yīng)該得到這個(gè)機(jī)會(huì)——扮演社會(huì)工程師不是你的職責(zé)。而只是因?yàn)樗麕缀蹩隙〞?huì)比那個(gè)更養(yǎng)眼的家伙干得更好。

　　You claim that the two are equally skilled and industrious. If you are right, you should hire the looker as lookers are easier to have around. But I don't think you are right.

　　如果你看到過(guò)有關(guān)研究，就會(huì)知道，漂亮的比丑陋的人更容易獲得成功。他們的薪水會(huì)高出15%，而且升遷的速度更快。這或許會(huì)讓人傾向于選擇那個(gè)討人喜歡的候選人。

　　If you read the research, it will tell you that beautiful people are more successful than ugly ones. They are paid up to 15 per cent more and they advance more quickly. This might make one inclined to choose the cute one.

　　你說(shuō)兩個(gè)人都同樣有才能和勤勉。如果你說(shuō)的是真的，你應(yīng)該聘請(qǐng)那個(gè)容貌出眾的，因?yàn)槿菝渤霰姷娜烁赡芙?jīng)驗(yàn)豐富。但我認(rèn)為你說(shuō)的不是真的。

　　However, if you consider the reason for this discrepancy, the odds shift towards the fatty. Beauties outperform beasts mainly because we expect them to do so. If you show people pictures of job candidates, they rate the beautiful as more trustworthy, more intelligent and more diligent than the plain. Fat people score particularly badly. One US study had people rate the obese as awkward, lazy, uncooperative and unconscientious.

　　然而，如果你考慮一下造成這種差距的原因，機(jī)會(huì)就會(huì)轉(zhuǎn)向那個(gè)胖子。美女勝過(guò)野獸，主要是因?yàn)槲覀冾A(yù)計(jì)他們會(huì)表現(xiàn)出眾

　　Lookist perceptions run so deep they even affect sport, where one might have thought performance would speak for itself. According to my colleague Simon Kuper's new book about football, hunks get picked more often for top teams as scouts are impressed by players who look the part.

　　以貌取人的觀點(diǎn)根深蒂固，甚至滲透到了體育領(lǐng)域——人們或許認(rèn)為，在這一領(lǐng)域成績(jī)代表著一切。我的同事西蒙?庫(kù)珀(Simon Kuper)寫了一本關(guān)于足球的新書，書中提到，魁梧高大的男子更容易進(jìn)入球隊(duì)，因?yàn)榍蛱絺冋J(rèn)為這種人適合踢足球。

　　Thus, for your plain candidate to have got so far suggests he is far better than the other one. You should hire him at once - indeed, I hope you did so weeks ago. The only reason for not doing so is if you feel the heavy, spotty one looks so dreadful that you physically shrink from him. Then mark yourself down and hire the looker.

　　因此，你那位長(zhǎng)相難看的候選人能夠走到這一步，說(shuō)明他遠(yuǎn)勝于另一個(gè)人。你應(yīng)該立即聘用他——實(shí)際上，我希望你在幾周前就已經(jīng)聘用了他。拒絕聘用他的唯一理由是，如果你覺(jué)得一個(gè)滿臉痘痘的胖子看起來(lái)讓人感覺(jué)不舒服，會(huì)讓你躲著他。如果是這樣，降低標(biāo)準(zhǔn)，聘用那個(gè)養(yǎng)眼的人吧。

　　讀者的建議 Suggestions from readers

　　I've managed research teams for years, and can tell you there is absolutely no correlation between looks and skill. Some of the ugliest persons are brilliant, and some of the best-looking are stupid; and vice-versa. Engage the two leading candidates in further evaluation. It may take time but one candidate surely will emerge as the best colleague and researcher.

　　1. 我有著多年的研究團(tuán)隊(duì)管理經(jīng)驗(yàn)，因此可以告訴你：長(zhǎng)相與才干絕對(duì)無(wú)關(guān)。一些很丑的人非常聰明，而一些長(zhǎng)得漂亮的家伙卻十分愚蠢;反過(guò)來(lái)也是一樣。你應(yīng)該進(jìn)一步對(duì)這兩個(gè)候選人進(jìn)行評(píng)估。這可能花費(fèi)時(shí)間，但這樣做可能會(huì)招到最好的同事和研究人員。

　　匿名，男性 Anon, male

　　Depends if the candidates are male or female. An attractive woman will be a threat to you. I use my looks to get what I want and am not ashamed to do so - a well chosen short skirt always ensures a better bonus. If there are too many pretty girls around, it's harder to pull this off. An attractive man will be a pleasure to look at.

　　2. 這取決于候選人是男的還是女的。一位迷人的女性將會(huì)對(duì)你構(gòu)成威脅。我憑借自己的容貌得到我想要的，并不為此感到羞愧——一件精挑細(xì)選的短裙，總是能確保得到更多的獎(jiǎng)金。如果周圍有太多的美女，搞定此事就沒(méi)那么容易。一個(gè)英俊男子會(huì)讓人賞心悅目。

　　女性，26歲 Female, 26

　　Hire the plain one! After the recession ends he/she will be offered fewer enticements to leave.

　　3. 聘用那個(gè)長(zhǎng)的難看的!在經(jīng)濟(jì)衰退結(jié)束后，他/她離職的可能性比較小。

　　顧問(wèn)，男性，74歲 Consultant, male, 74

　　Hire the slim one. Obese people are more likely to take time off owing to illness. Obesity is a lifestyle choice and so you'd not be discriminating against a person with a disability by not hiring the fat one.

　　4. 聘用那個(gè)苗條的家伙。胖人更可能請(qǐng)病假。肥胖是一種生活方式的選擇，因此你不會(huì)因沒(méi)有聘用胖人，而讓人覺(jué)得你在歧視殘疾人。

　　匿名，男性 Anon, male

　　From personal experience, dealing with adult-onset acne makes one infinitely tougher and more resilient at work.

　　5. 從我的個(gè)人經(jīng)歷來(lái)說(shuō)，與成年期粉刺做斗爭(zhēng)會(huì)讓人無(wú)比堅(jiān)強(qiáng)，在工作中適應(yīng)能力更強(qiáng)。

　　匿名，女性 Anon, female

　　Winston Churchill was overweight, unfit, drank, smoked, wasn't very good looking . . . Got the picture?

　　6. 溫斯頓·丘吉爾(Winston Churchill)超重、不健康、酗酒、抽煙，長(zhǎng)得不太好看……看過(guò)照片了嗎?