The Science of Viz

It seems that the "beer goggles" effect, well known to drinkers everywhere, in fact has a scientific basis and an equation.

The BBC report I've linked to here goes on to say:


Nathan Efron, Professor of Clinical Optometry at the University of Manchester, said: "The beer goggles effect isn't solely dependent on how much alcohol a person consumes, there are other influencing factors at play too.
"For example, someone with normal vision, who has consumed five pints of beer and views a person 1.5 metres away in a fairly smoky and poorly lit room, will score 55, which means they would suffer from a moderate beer goggle effect."

Fair enough.

It concludes by saying:

A poll showed that 68% of people had regretted giving their phone number to someone to whom they later realised they were not attracted.
A formula rating of less than one means no effect. Between one and 50 the person you would normally find unattractive appears less "visually offensive".
Non-appealing people become suddenly attractive between 51 and 100. At more than 100, someone not considered attractive looks like a super model.

It really does read like a Viz spoof article, but without any of the swearing. I bet the research was fun and "cost effective".