In today's news, phrenology makes a big comeback among "serious" researchers.
According to palaeontologists, the dimensions of the region between the mouth and the eyebrows are crucial in determining how attractive a man's face appears to the opposite sex.
Research carried out at the Natural History Museum found that, at puberty, the height of the upper face – the area between the lip and the brow – develops differently in men and women. Men have evolved short faces between the brow and upper lip, which makes their jaws appear larger, their cheeks more flared, and their eyebrows more pronounced.
Unlike other facial features, however, the difference "in upper facial height" cannot be explained in terms of men being bigger than women. Researchers believe men have evolved the features because they appear more masculine.
Dr Eleanor Weston, a palaeontologist from the museum, examined 68 male and 53 female skulls from the University of Witwaterstrand in South Africa.
Oh, by all means, please read the rest of this one. The top ten list of their findings of "masculine men" would probably correlate 100% with "most media exposure". But, we don't want to rain on the "serious" scientist's parade. We found a handy guide that should help them decipher all the rest of the things they can find in the shape of the human skull.
I like the “further research is necessary” line in the article. Translation: We need more government grants to perpetuate our jobs.
In a time when global warming is considered “science”, why not phrenology as well?