We talk about molecular population and evolutionary GENETICS and GENOMICS. You know, the caliper measurement of a gene's evolvability in moles.While procrastinating (I should be analyzing data for a talk I'm giving on Friday), I stumbled upon this site (via EDSBS, not StumbleUpon). I tried to bypass registration (using BugMeNot), but none of the cheat passwords worked. If you want to play around with the gadget, you may need to register, but you can use a fake email address (they don't require you confirm your registration).
What's this fun website? Well, you upload a headshot, and it returns a list of celebrities you resemble. I uploaded three different photos. To find out who I look like, click through below the fold.
Photo number one scored a 67% match to Elle McPherson, and matched Edward Norton (67%) and Michael Owen (62%), as well. I also matched with Demi Moore, Anna Kournikova, and Rivaldo.
My second photo scored a 62% match with Kenny Dalglish, a 61% match to Michael Owen, and a 58% match to Shakira (although her ass shakes much better than mine).
Finally, picture number three scored a 64% match to Matt Dillon, a 62% match to Christy Turlington, and a 61% match to Rivaldo.
The recurrent themes that I see are soccer players (Rivaldo, Michael Owen, and Kenny Dalglish are all footballers) and models (Elle McPherson, Christy Turlington, and Anna Kournikova). This application does a great job of stroking egos. I wonder if Tiny Tim, Gheorghe Muresan, or Sandra Oh are in the database. It's one thing for someone to say you look like a celebrity; it's another thing to be told you look like an ugly famous person.
I also got repeat matches to Debra Winger, and I look like a Bollywood Celebrity. Given my symmetrical facial features, does Razib think my children will have a low genetic load?
