First Impressions - Should You Judge a Book by Its Cover?

People say that you shouldn't judge a book by its cover. That you should take the time to get to know people despite what they look like. I could agree, to an extent. You shouldn't refuse to get to know a person just because he has an unusually big nose or because she has a mole on her face. These are physical characteristics that can't be helped. So of course you should take the time to get to know a person despite their physical characteristics.

But what if you were approached by an extremely attractive male/female and they ask for your phone number? Chances are you'd at least think about giving out your number. What if this same person smelled horrible, had yellow teeth, wax in the ears, dandruff sprinkled throughout his/her hair, but remember, this person is very nice looking. Would you change your mind about giving this person your number? Probably. Why? Because these things are signs that they don't take care of themselves and unlike physical characteristics, hygiene can be controlled. The cover may be beautiful, but if they walk up to you with obvious signs of bad hygiene, they are giving you a preview of what you are to expect from them.

You can even be an unbelievably attractive person with good hygiene, looking perfect, but exhibiting deplorable behavior and turned down. Why? Come on, do you even have to ask. Suppose a gorgeous woman who dresses with style, smells nice and has an incredible smile approaches you. She asks if she can join you, sure, who would turn down the company of a woman like that? Then, you discover that she's extremely promiscuous, making obscene gestures and flirting with other men while she's supposed to be talking to you. You look at her and suddenly, she isn't quite as attractive as she was a few minutes ago, is she? Her cover seemed beautiful, but the other portion that helps make up that cover - her ugly behavior- overshadowed her beauty.

So yes, to an extent, you can judge a book by it's cover and you should. If the cover weren't presented in a nice way, why would you want to spend your valuable time reading the book? Even books in a store are presented in a nice way to draw the attention of the reader. The cover has nice art work of some sort on it and there is a summary on the back that is meant to make you want buy the book. If the book looks torn and tattered, looks like absolutely no time and effort was put into making the cover, would you be immediately drawn to it? Like it or not, people are made a certain way, inside and out. Our natural instinct is to at the very least have a first impression of what is in front of us based on how it is presented. When you go out to dinner, would you choose the desert that looks fancy on the plate and smells nice or would you opt for the one that looks like it was just plopped on the plate carelessly and has an unusual odor? The one that smells funny might actually taste better, but your first impression of it is that it wouldn't be very appetizing. If you want someone to notice you, take the time to present yourself in a nice way.