Poll: Blue eyes?. It means you're a genius

[EeveeElectro]

The Daily Mail did carry it out... They probably forgot to add on "... and a size 6 figure, long blond hair, bit tits. And by academic, we meant how many people will follow you."

Well now I can blame my thickness on my brown eyes. Scapegoats ftw!

 

[Thyunda]

So what about dark grey eyes...? Am I only smart on the occasion? My eyes are usually dark grey, so they look almost black, but on occasion they take on a midnight blue colour. They're beautiful eyes, but I don't think they make me smart. No, my brain makes me smart.

 

[Kaboose the Moose]

That's a slippery slope to stride upon. If melanin is proven to have an effect on intelligence (which it doesn't as far as current science and medicine goes) then the inference would stem far beyond mere eye colour.

You would have people judging intelligence based on skin colour which is absolutely stupi- oh wait!

Not saying it wouldn't be interesting research though, it's just that in the world of science the art of communication is pretty poor. And with a topic that can have wide ranging implications the art of tactfulness is lost on many of the boffins.

Oh yes, it's quite easy to see how that particular bit of research could be construed to mean something that it shouldn't. My guess is even if there were a correlation between melanin levels and intelligence, it would merely be part of a number of factors which make up the whole, because just saying that it has something to do with melanin is far too simplistic. I would still like to know what the link might be though. Upregulation of certain neurotransmitters in the brain? Changes in ion channels in nerves? Some sort of transcription factor for genes? It would be interesting to learn.

True, it wouldn't come down to a single chemical (presuming it actually has a feedback influence) but more of an expression of several systems working together. It is an interesting thought to toy with now that you mentioned it. I mean melanin is in more than just the iris, hair and skin. There are high levels of melanin inside the locus coeruleus of the brain stem as well as the basal ganglia (substantia nigra) and in the dopaminergic neurons among other places. I don't know how, but if a pigment like melanin can somehow influence dopamine synthesis for example, then there might be something to this, since dopamine has an influence on learning.

If, and that's a big if, melanin has an effect on any metabolic/uptake pathways, it's most likely be the result of the actions of neuromelanin, which unless I am mistaken has little to do with expression of hair, eye or skin colour. Which would mean again, that hair, eye and skin colour is irrelevant to intelligence.

Damn this would be fascinating research!. I can see a Nobel prize already..

 

[irishstormtrooper]

I have blue-gray eyes. Does that mean I'll sparkle less academically?

 

[Jedoro]

I have brown eyes, yet I academically did better than most people in high school. 32 on the ACT, stayed up playing Halo til midnight the night before, and I made sure they all knew it.

 

[Jaranja]

I have green eyes around the edges and towards the middle; they're brown.

 

[Frankydee]

I'm more of a bluish grey. Don't really feel all that gifted :|

 

[Inverse Skies]

True, it wouldn't come down to a single chemical (presuming it actually has a feedback influence) but more of an expression of several systems working together. It is an interesting thought to toy with now that you mentioned it. I mean melanin is in more than just the iris, hair and skin. There are high levels of melanin inside the locus coeruleus of the brain stem as well as the basal ganglia (substantia nigra) and in the dopaminergic neurons among other places. I don't know how, but if a pigment like melanin can somehow influence dopamine synthesis for example, then there might be something to this, since dopamine has an influence on learning.

If, and that's a big if, melanin has an effect on any metabolic/uptake pathways, it's most likely be the result of the actions of neuromelanin, which unless I am mistaken has little to do with expression of hair, eye or skin colour. Which would mean again, that hair, eye and skin colour is irrelevant to intelligence.

Damn this would be fascinating research!. I can see a Nobel prize already..

Theoretically, melanin would be an inhibitor of neurotransmitters in the brain, at least that is what my guess for its function would be if higher levels of it contribute to lesser intelligence. If it did have an affect on dopamine, then there's nothing to say it couldn't also regulate noradrenalin or serotonin in a similar fashion. I'm reminded so much of Nitric Oxide as I read this, that little chemical went from being nothing to one of the more important regulators of blood pressure. It'd be amazing if you could expand the role of melanin as well from being a pigment to a regulator of neurotransmitters and hence intelligence.

 

[YoUnG205]

green eyes ftw!

 

[Tartarga]

My eyes are blue and I am stupider than a goldfish with amnesia.

 

[FightThePower]

Correlation does not imply causation.

 

[MercenaryCanary]

What about my green eyes? What does it mean? I feel left out.

Ditto.
Wait, my eye color changes. What does that mean?!?!

You secretly love Twilight or you want to make love to a policewoman in a bicycle shed..while eating a chicken fajita.

I am almost sure of this..

The latter surely must be true!

 

[Snowalker]

I have blue gray eyes.. I refuse to vote untill you add gray, because a lot of people have this color eye.

 

[The Warden]

Wait a minute...
This reminds me of something...
OH YEA:

NAZI SCIENTISTS!
I have hazel, so WTF does that make me?
I'm pretty sure I'm intelligent.

 

[electrodeth]

I have blue eyes and I don't believe this and you said you got this out of the daily mail a British newspaper so British people FTW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

 

[AdamG3691]

pokemon

I CHOOSE YOU GODWIN!

USE YOUR LAW ATTACK!


yeah...

 

[The Cake Is Annoying]

There's a little too much similarity for me to take this even half seriously.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Elliott

Thank you for posting this, I found this fascinating.

 

[Lord_Duke]

Blue eyes, Long blond hair, Yet im a total failure at maintaining a day job.
I have way above average IQ though but it only gets in my way at having conversations with people that are below average, They dont understand me, I get pissed off

 

[The Hairminator]

Blue eyes, pale skin and blond hair here. Thinking about it, I do consider myself smarter than most people. I do know other people who has the same traits, although they are VERY stupid. Also know people with brown eyes that are a whole lot smarter than me.

 

[GrinningManiac]

Well according to the latest "research" or rather observations have revealed that if you have blue eyes you are "more likely to sparkle academically than those with brown."

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-476244/Why-blue-eyed-boys-girls-brilliant.html

Spoiler: The news

"The colour of your eyes could determine your achievements in life, say scientists. They claim those with blue eyes are more likely to sparkle academically than those with brown. They are more intelligent and gain more qualifications because they study more effectively and perform better in exams.

Scroll down for more...

The discovery might help explain the success of such disparate individuals as Stephen Hawking, Alexander Fleming, Marie Curie, Stephen Fry and Lily Cole.

In reaction time trials conducted by U.S. scientists, the brown-eyed performed better, making them more likely to succeed at activities such as football, hockey and rugby.

But the researchers concluded that those with lighter eyes appeared to be better strategic thinkers.

Blue-eyed boys and girls proved to be more successful in activities that required them to plan and structure their time, such as golf, cross-country running - and studying for exams.

Those highly intelligent Stephens (Hawking and Fry): New research has revealed that blue-eyed individuals may study more effectively and perform better in exams than those with dark eyes

Stephen Hawking, author of A Brief History Of Time, is Britain's most eminent physicist.

Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin while Marie Curie was the first twice-honoured Nobel laureate for her work on radioactivity.

Writer and actor Stephen Fry gained a scholarship to Cambridge while model Lily Cole secured a place at King's College, Cambridge, after achieving five As at A-level.

Joanna Rowe, professor emeritus at the University of Louisville in Kentucky, who conducted the tests, said the results suggested a hitherto unexplored link between eye colour and academic achievement"

"It is just observed, rather than explained," she said. "There's no scientific answer yet." Dr Tony Fallone, senior psychology lecturer at the University of Bedfordshire, who has also studied eye colour, believes it should be taken more seriously as an indicator of personality and ability.

Most babies have blue eyes but they usually darken as the pigment melanin builds up in the iris.

Less melanin produces green, grey, or light brown eyes. Eyes with very little melanin appear blue or grey."

Alright, so I am willing to overlook this report from the "Daily Mail" but it got me thinking..how many of you have blue eyes/what is your eye colour and do you agree with this..er..findings.

I have a feeling I've heard this somewhere before...

Oh yeah

OT: My eyes are a kind of Blu-grey-green. Like partiularly magical steam

And, on a completely unrelated note, I beat Mecha Birdo on IWBTG. Whilst this is in no way related to the discussion, I really wanted to brag, and it didn't warrant it's own thread