A couple weeks ago on Twitter, the mighty Vaguery sayeth: “@mcburton Alas, the unsuspecting coder at the edge of the pack doesn’t realize a Business Development Consultant is lurking in the corner…”
To which there was the reply from the wily mcburton: “@Vaguery my beard will protect me”
That prompted me to remember a conversation that came up at a party while talking to a bearded fellow about how our beards may relegate us to a certain class in society.
On Twitter/Facebook, I asked: How many political or business leaders do you know of that have beards?
1st reply: libbyh : @dcooney bill richardson and al gore sported beards. abe lincoln, of course 😉
From the photos I looked up, I think Al looks fine with the beard.
Replied: @libbyh those are good ones. There are a few academic + business types, such as John Seely Brown or Vint Cerf, but they don’t really count.
next:
billmerrill @dcooney don’t forget @homelessdave 😉
shadow power
One can find essays galore on the subject.
is there a ponytail corollary to the beard shield?
a bit of searching turns up that the ponytail has a past of fickle fashion much like the beard.
The Trustworthiness of Beards:
http://chronicle.com/blogPost/The-Trustworthiness-of-Beards/22581/
Data visualization of the trustworthiness of beards http://flowingdata.com/2010/04/23/trustworthiness-of-beards/
Full spread of visualization wonder: http://pixelspread.com/images/beards_trust_2.jpg
Just turned 39. I think my midlife crisis activities will include losing the ponytail.
Keeping the beard (makes my face slightly less fat)