If you hold the opinion that actors Regé-Jean Page and Michael B. Jordan are among the most attractive in the world, you just may be onto something.
According to the “golden ratio,” an ancient mathematical system that the ancient Greeks conceived, Page is the world’s most handsome man, with an overall score of 93.65%. With a score of 93.46%, Jordan is the third most attractive man, right behind actor Chris Hemsworth, who scored 93.53%. The golden ratio rates the “correctness” of a person’s facial features.
British facial cosmetic surgeon Julian De Silva provided the calculations. He uses a computer mapping program based on the ancient beauty measuring system to help his patients better achieve high-spending face cards. He also frequently uses it to test celebrity faces. In October, he used the system to rate the faces of famous women. Beyoncé, Zendaya and Black British model Jourdan Dunn all scored above 90%.
Of the latest results ranking men, De Silva told the Daily Mail that Page won out this round in large part due to his eyes. “Regé won because of his classically beautiful face and gorgeous brown eyes,” said De Silva. “He had easily the highest score for his eye spacing, and the positioning of his eyes also scored highly.”
De Silva also said Page’s lips are “perfect,” according to the system.
Whether the system is unbiased when it comes to race and ethnic background is not clear. Many celebrities of varying ethnicities and facial features have all scored well above 80%. The results for the sizes of certain features that often correlate closely to ethnicity, such as lips and noses, are based on how they measure up with the rest of a person’s facial features. While the only “low” result Page received was for the width and length of his nose, Jordan actually ranked high because of his nose.
“Actor Michael B. Jordan was a close second and topped the scores for the width and length of his nose and came second for his chin,” De Silva said.
Though physicians like De Silva use technology based on the system to help patients, the golden ratio has been long debunked and even mocked. When De Silva made headlines in 2016 for naming Amber Heard the world’s most beautiful woman based on the system, John Allen Paulos, a Temple University research mathematician and author, told Insider the system wasn’t to be trusted.
“There’s no scientific discovery that’s ever followed from any kind of scientific application of the ‘golden ratio,’ It doesn’t predict anything. It isn’t at the base of any sort of argument that has some kind of scientific content,” he said.
In addition to the golden ratio not holding much scientific weight, De Silva’s pool of faces begs a lot of questions. Some commenters on his IG post questioned how accurate the results could possibly be, given there’s no way he tested those famous faces against every face in the world.
Still, it’s comforting to know some of our favorite heartthrobs — and Beyoncé, of course — might have been considered as gorgeous as the Greek gods.
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