Olga's Odds & Evans

    A few weeks ago, on March 1, 2019, I wrote a seemingly innocuous post on Facebook seeking my network’s opinions regarding my most recent professional photos.   Specifically, I wrote: “ Time to pick my new work profile pic! What looks more “professorial” - left or right? ”    The two photos are reproduced below.       Little did I know that this post would generate the greatest number of non-birthday comments ever (87!).   On Instagram, the same post got 25 comments. Without even realizing it, I was conducting a survey experiment.   The photo on the left displayed only a hint of a smile, chin up, and head slightly tilted to the right. The one on the right had me smiling a toothy smile, chin down, and head tilted left.   Otherwise, the pictures were identical, down to the arm fold, slightly unruly hair, and outfit.   (The only give-away that I didn’t originally plan this as an experiment was the fact that the two pictures were cropped differently, with the one on the left more