This is so to the point of how “health” & “beauty” get reduced to “physique” & “prettiness.”

People would do well to close their eyes and listen to what a person is saying before they look and are sidetracked by visual attractiveness. There are many athletes that achieve the all-around goal. There are plenty of intellectuals that are to be found wanting in basic humanity. But I am often dispirited by how we hold up folks as example to youth because of some physical prowess while we ignore most excellent people who are “frumpy”  or “only smart.”

Why should we not be surprised that athletes and celebrities ultimately disappoint? They are not real heros.

Despite the prevalence of dumb jock and pretty-but-stupid stereotypes, we are quick to exalt the physically talented, to assume that such bodily brilliance permeates a person’s entire being. We are so in need of idols that we take them literally at face value. Like a desperate single, we readily project our fantasies onto even the most marginal of candidates.

via Ryan Lochte: So sexy, so dumb – Salon.com.