KHALID SHAIKH MOHAMMED WAS 'PLANNING MORE ATTACKS' ON USA...

MSNBC ^

[Mitchell]

I just don't see how you can read anything into a person's appearance, especially in just one photograph, and especially considering the circumstances under which that photograph is said to have been taken.

I have no opinion as to whether Princip looks like the sort of person who could have triggered a world war, just as I have no opinion as to whether the photo said to be of KSM looks like a mastermind of terrorism. Is phrenology next?

Does Princip look like Mohamed Atta? I don't see it; their facial structures seem quite different. But Princip is the spitting image of Ramzi Yousef. Here are photos, for comparison:

Atta	Princip
Yousef	Princip

I still think this means nothing, though.

[Allan]

I would look at the eyes
(the mirrors of the soul).
Yousef looks like one of my students
who has come to me
to ask for his exam to be regraded.
Eyes dull and lifeless
maybe on drugs
more likely sleep deprivation.
Atta and Princip
both have very intense eyes.
However Atta's are extremely sinister
and Princip's are earnest.

[Mitchell]

You could easily be right about their eyes. But you're still reading far too much into the photo said to be of KSM. You just can't take one picture of somebody and say that that is or isn't what a terrorist mastermind looks like.

[Allan]

I have no opinion as to whether Princip looks
like the sort of person
who could have triggered a world war,
just as I have no opinion
as to whether the photo said to be of KSM
looks like a mastermind of terrorism.
Is phrenology next?

I have travelled a lot in foreign countries
and often I have had to stop
to ask someone for information
or directions.

My experience was
that almost everyone is clueless
and any information they give
is totally useless.

Finally I decided
that if I needed information
I would look through the crowd
until I spotted an intelligent face.

I soon realized
it is extremely easy
visually
to spot intelligence.

Are you trying to tell me
that you can't determine intelligence
or character
in general
from appearance?

Come on now!

We all make judgements from appearance
some consciously
most unconsciously.

[Allan]

Sorry, ping.

[bootless]

Or living in a van down by the river...

[Mitchell]

Of course what you say is true. But you're talking about judging someone's ability and willingness to be helpful, not necessarily their intelligence, and, most importantly, you're talking about using cues from body language, facial expressions, gestures, etc. How the person is moving tells you something. The level of eye contact tells you something, and so on. Moreover, what you're looking at hasn't been staged or pre-selected. What you see is the way that person has really chosen to appear in public (dress, neatness, etc.)

That's completely different from saying that you can look at a single still photograph of somebody, selected for release out of many photographs by a government that is his enemy and has just captured him (and that may have, in fact, staged the photo), and deducing from his appearance under those circumstances whether he is the type of person to mastermind a terrorist operation. That just can't be done.

Sometimes psychopaths and sociopaths are obviously weird, but sometimes they can be charming. Look at the various serial murderers who have been caught in recent years, and you'll find all different types of people.

[I will concede, however, that the photograph looks nothing like the way I imagined KSM.]

[Allan]

Sometimes psychopaths and sociopaths are obviously weird
but sometimes they can be charming.

Such as, for example, Bill Clinton??

There were a lot of people
who knew what he was
the instant they saw him.

(That didn't take much skill).

Your post requires a very long reply
but briefly
I would like just to say this:

Yes, a photograph conveys much less information
than live contact
nonetheless
the information in a photographic impression
even under non-optimal circumstances
is non-negligible.

[Mitchell]

Such as, for example, Bill Clinton??

Well, I was thinking of Ted Bundy. But, in a more complicated way, Bill Clinton is a fine example too. (I do not mean to equate the two in any sense however.)

[Allan]

I do not mean to equate the two in any sense however.

No. Clinton is far more evil.