Michelle Dion and Paul Brewer are discussing whether or not there are benefits that accrue to professorship. Michelle writes:

[A] positive externality of being a professor is that most people believe professors are smart, honest, and responsible people. The reputation associated with professors is a positive externality of the profession.

“Smart,” “honest,” and “responsible” are three adjectives that do not immediately spring to mind when discussing the professoriate; perhaps too much exposure to the Ward Churchills, Shelby Thameses, John Lotts, and Michael Bellesiles of the world is an explanation.

The discussion has subsequently devolved to the topic of dating; my small-n anecdotal experience is that of the four single professors who started here a year ago, the two female ones are no longer on the dating market while the two male ones still are. Mind you, we don’t have strong controls here: differential attractiveness may be a key determining factor in these outcomes.