This Thinking Is Like, Soooo Five Minutes Ago… MAD LIB was based on Tyra Banks’ last words to aspiring medical student Elyse Sewell on the finale of the first season of America’s Next Top Model. When the judges asked her explain her theory about beauty, she committed a grave sin: she mentioned some genetic and evolutionary aspects that shape popular perceptions of beauty. Until this point, waif-thin Elyse was edited to appear to have a lock on the contest. But the judges balked at the notion that anything other than “skill” could possibly play into a model’s success, and labeled her knowledge of science “arrogant.” Immediately after this “dumb it down, girl” advice, Tyra booted the finalist from the competition:

“Elyse, your look is really strong for the fashion world – for the die hard, hard-core fashion world… Elyse, I admire your intelligence. I think you are so smart. But one thing with that intelligence is that it can intimidate people, and there’s a way to use that intelligence in a way that doesn’t feel like you’re maybe putting down other people or sounding derogatory.”

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