The Average Faces of Women Around the World

The Average Faces of Women Around the World

FaceResearch.org has published the results of a recent experiment where experimental psychologists at the University of Glasgow in Scotland have combined the faces of women around to world to approximate the "average face" of each country. Using a modern version of the technique that Sir Francis Galton pioneered in the 1800's, multiple images of faces are aligned and composited together to form the final result.

There is already controversy surrounding the results. Some people feel that the average is "too attractive." Part of this is explained by the process. Instead of having a lot of blurry images with undefined features, this method averages the shape of the features before blending the images together. Also when blending, remember that many singular issues are "averaged away." The study also does not reveal how the participants were selected or how large the sample size actually is.

No conclusive evidence, however, on Polish women's propensity for bangs.

average faces of women around the world

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[Via 9gag]

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Residing in New York City, Chris is an internationally published photographer whose work has appeared in Vogue, People, MSNBC, ABC, Ocean Drive, GQ and others. He is an instructor of Photography and Imaging at Pratt Institute and the New York Film Academy.

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439 Comments

These are all beautiful

HEy John! I watched a lot of your videos, very informative, professional and funny. The one talking about seeing dfferently and ending talking about your father. Fantastic. Thanks for taking the time.

Beauty is often a property of symmetry, and thanks to the way they average out features a great deal of symmetry is created as an artifact of the image prossesing.

Thanks. I thought they all looked TOO beautiful to be average

Yeah, I know I'm not that symmetrical. Average was looking awfully good looking there.

I actually feel that some of them are too average that they don't look attractive

Think of this parallel: I'm
a pretty awful singer, but if you put me in a room with other awful
singers, my off-key flat notes get balanced out by others' off-key sharp
notes and vice-versa, and combined, we don't sound terrible. I believe that's what's happening here.

I'm a musician, singer, guitarist, pianist; I strongly disagree with that.

Wrong. A flat note is just that: flat. If you place that note next to the correct note or even a slightly sharp note, it just creates dissonance. Even if you have a large group of people singing the correct note and you sing slightly flat, the note will sound flat.

And that's why most of those girls look awful

Ok, you tried to find a parallel but you looked in the wrong place. a mixture of off-keys does in no way create a correct tone because the notes are not averaged, they're heard all at once which results in a cacophony that is hard to tolerate. But @disqus_On1qhRnpAY:disqus is also wrong. A flat note is only relatively flat, if everyone is the same amount flat, everything is fine. This only becomes a problem, if correctly tuned instruments are involved as well.

compare the white european ones to the others.....no comparison....

Yea, but there are white girls in the other countries as much as I'm aware, the problem comes when countries are multiracial, because there the face gets critically affected

No US?

Since the US is made up of immigrants from other countries, it wouldn't make sense to include it in this research project.

You mean the U.S. is an interesting mix of numerous cultures? I think it would be very interesting to see one done on the U.S.

The U.S. is multi-ethnic. The United States already has its own culture and language...

US already has its own culture? Since when? its a country which is made up of immigrants and as definition goes talking about immigrants in US is like fooling around with people who are living there from bit less time then so called native US citizens.

Um, jazz, rock n roll, the vast majority of cinema (both modern and historical), american abstract art...I could go on. Yep, you might not like it, but Smerica does, indeed, have it's own culture.

True that, especi.ally looking at pop music in general. And interestingly, most of the muscial styles from gospel, jazz, rap, etc. were rather pioneered by the afro-american part fo the population.

america does have it's own culture.. but i wouldn't say it as it's own as in it was always there.. all the things you stated derived from other places even music.. jazz rock and roll developed later after classical music which was also inspired by other cultures needless to say. So america may have it's culture now.. but it's simply just a culture they got by stitching different things together and then advancing on them.

...just like every other culture.

Well they did until the late 1400s, the immigrants wiped most of it out though

i dont think they have any culture or language. But as a matter of fact, they pronouncing it as every humanbeing can understand easily. Which the way I like

But this conclusion is exactly the case of Brazil as well. Brazil is not only a multi-ethnic country, but also a REAL mixed country (much more than US; believe me - I'm not Brazilian, but I already lived there).

Excellent description.

If you were to mix all of the races/nationalities up - you'd get everyone looking the same. The facial features of a certain nation is what distinguishes that nation (that's how these photos were made).

The only thing you CAN do is use this analogy - Scandinavians settled to Nebraska mostly - therefore fair hair and blue eyes.

See who settled where, observe the facial features of majority of ppl and compare to these.

Umm... Anyone notice the average Brazilian lady? Talk about a composite... Everyone is a mix of many different races, the only difference is the length of time they've been left alone to foster a unique culture. Don't forget we all walked out of Africa together.

not together.... and not at the same period at all....

Well, now that you've mentioned it, everyone does look like an amoeba ;)
That's going too far into the past.

Actually as another person from NE, mostly northern Germans, less Scandinavians.

There you go. I read it was mostly Scandinavians. Still makes sense. It's the Aryan look any way. Though there are subtle differences.

what mix of cultures in US are you talking about ??? different cultures living next to each other don't make any mix, just cultures living next to each other !
and US is made up of mimmigrants from the early beginning of this nation....mostly convicts and prostitutes condemned to be exile from Europe to what will be call US !

U.S. since all are immigrants are a mixture of all of the above. lol

Brazil is very mixed too... as well as South Africa and a lot of others on the list

mixing destroys diversity. THink of a box of 128 crayons and melt them all together.. no more diversity then.

Nice try:) but I think:"nope" how would you have diversity in for example the workplace, schools, shops, families if there was no "mixing" as you call it (allowed)? Diversity is not only about ethnicity it's also about gender, age, lifestyle etc.
My native language is Dutch so please pardon grammar and spelling mistake( and yes I don't look Dutch right? lol, *hashtag* loving diversity) In regards to the crayons all melted together? I think I have seen some nice pieces of art made from melted crayons.....

Most melted crayons are disasters with medical and psychological problems. You are not dutch anymore than a yellow crayon is green. It is sad that you do not like your own people enough to want to be them. The diversity you talk about in the EU and USA is forced by law and cost much money to make happen. If it were so natural such measures would not need to be taken.

How can you tell her she is not Dutch? Dutch is a nationality. I am American. Does being american imply race or ethnicity? No. It is my nationality. And saying I'm American does not mean that I don't like my "own people." Don't be ridiculous! Diversity is not forced by law. We are not in the slave trade era. And what medical and psychological problems are you speaking of? Do you have facts to back this?

American is an ideal. Dutch, German, Japanese, Bantu .. these are all organic as they have genetic markers and unique cultures. Diversity in USA is forced by affirmative action and civil rights. Will post studies later on how mixed raced are messed up. But it should be common knowledge that a mixed race person can not receive bone marrow transplants and not until recently organ transplants as it is there are no donors for bone marrow and difficult to find donors for organs due to genetic differences. You can start with this one... http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/oct03/udry10302003.html

That is not true that mixed races can't find donors! Difficult to find does not mean impossible. That is why it's not common knowledge. Diversity is not forced by affirmative action. Diversity comes because people want to live here among other races and cultures. There is a reason so many people want to come to the US- opportunity and diversity. What is your nationality and ethnicity? There are few who are not 'mixed' in this day and time.

mixed races can't find bone marrow that is fact. In America we live in a more segregated society than we did 50 years ago. Ever hear of white flight. Google it. Immigrants come to America for a free ride.. some come for opportunity, but there is little opportunity in America now.

Free ride? Immigrants work hard at the jobs many Americans no longer want to do, and/or refuse to do. "There is little opportunity" is matter of perspective. For many, it is still the land of opportunity, or else why would they want to come? Regarding bone marrow donors, I am on the registry. Finding a donor is more a function of people actually getting on the registry to donate, not that there are no genetically similar donors. Some don't want to donate for fear of pain, etc. that is about education. A great article about that. http://content.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1993074,00.html
And I don't need to google white flight to know that many whites like yourself are scared and close minded and flee at the first sign of diversity.

85% of illegal immigrants in Texas are on welfare. We spend over 6 billlion a year educating them. It is the land of free loading. Many working Mexicans that I know are going back to Mexico. Like most Americans their wages have not kept up with prices and they find they are just as well off at HOME than in America.

100% of MNCs are on welfare, too. Where's your bitching about that?

Percent of whites on welfare- 38.8%

Percent of Hispanics on welfare-15.7

Maybe whites should "go back"

http://www.statisticbrain.com/welfare-statistics/

Those stats are not percent of a race on welfare, but percent of welfare recipients who are of that race.

Yes Satistician. That is what it says.

That's a meaningful differentiation, worth pointing out. Thank you :)

not even close

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