Further proof that Malcom Gladwell is "Insane"

Today we read about visual prejudices in things like orchestra auditions. How when the judges could see the musician, they tended to lean more towards white men. But when we put a screen between the judges and the judgees, leaving no room for visual judgement, women were more often chosen to play.
Visual prejudices are a common presence in our lives whether we realize it or not. Every day we form an opinion of someone before we even talk to them. We notice everything about them, the way they carry themselves, the clothes and jewelry they wear, what kind of mood are they in.. Anything we could link to something else in our minds and get a feeling from.

There's a girl at Citrus High that I met one day. She was talking to one of my friends when I walked up. I glanced at her and took in the tight shirt with "hottie" spelled across it in glitter, the dying Jesus around her neck, the Bush Cheeney sticker on her purse... Hate at first sight.
But after talking to her for a while, I found she was actually a pretty friendly person. Looking back on her though, I just can't see her in the same light I might have if I had met her over the internet, where all I had to judge her with was what she said to me.

I'd never really thought about it before... How quickly people judge by how someone looks, when they're supposed to be judging by what they say, or how they sound. I guess it all makes sense though. It's enough to make me want to practice looking confident when I audition for Spring musical this month.