Writing in Psychology Today, eminent neurologist Richard E. Cytowic, M.D. claims that Ted Cruz’ atypical facial expressions make him “uneasy”. Dr. Cytowic is truly an eminent neurologist. Reading this article in Scientific American, one understands that this guy has a really, really big brain. So, if Ted Cruz’ facial expressions make him “uneasy” we must believe what he writes… right? Not so fast there, doc.

From the article:

The Senator’s atypical expressions leave me uneasy.

Before I say why, note how many colleagues and former associates “loathe” him. A Bush alumnus told the New York Times’ Frank Bruni, “Why do people take such an instant dislike to Ted Cruz? It just saves time.” Former Senate Majority leader Bob Dole says, “Nobody likes him,” while Rep. Peter King sees “malice.” According to The Washington Post, screenwriter Craig Mazin, Cruz’s former Princeton roommate, has called him a “huge asshole,” and “creepy.” He’s Tweeted, “Getting emails blaming me for not smothering Ted Cruz in his sleep in 1988.” The distaste for Cruz even extends beyond the US: Germans say Backpfeifengesicht, meaning a face in need of a good punch.

First things first, the Germans didn’t invent backpfeifengesicht to describe Ted Cruz. As a matter of fact, there is no evidence that a German has even used backpfeifengesicht to describe Ted Cruz. There is, however, a Twitter meme for backpfeifengesicht and Ted Cruz that goes back to May, 2013.

I would posit that this is where the good doctor learned of backpfeifengesicht. Who says that older, male neurologists can’t be Mean Girls? I guess that Dr. Cytowic wants to hang with The Plastics and get invited to the cool parties.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5g8tjWwAeg

So, Dr. Cytowic then tells us that Cruz doesn’t smile right… what?

No matter the emotional coloring of Senator Cruz’s outward rhetoric, his mouth typically tightens into the same straight line. If it deviates from this, the corners of his mouth bend down, not upwards. The outside of his eyebrows bend down, too, when he emotes, something so atypical that it disturbs me. Typically a person’s eyebrows arch up, as does the corrugator muscle that furrow the forehead. What is such a downturned face signaling?

Downturned expressions usually signal disagreeableness or disgust. But I honestly don’t know because such an expression is rare in the context of public presentations that are meant to win people over. He may well be unaware that the message of his body language is incongruent with his words.

What? Wait. What? The roots of my hair hurt from that explanation.

Look, Dr. Cytowic, I grew out of the Mean Girls phase a loooong time ago. I will admit that for my tastes, Ted Cruz’ nose is too long and his lips are too small and he does kind of look like Grandpa from The Munsters.

I would suggest to Dr. Cytowic that whatever he sees in Ted Cruz that makes him uneasy or makes him want to punch him in the face tells us a whole lot more about Dr. Cytowic than Ted Cruz. It’s called projection, when you project onto someone else your own feelings. As a matter of fact, Psychology Today has a great article on projection. The article is titled “Don’t Project Your Feelings of Inadequacy on to Others”.

I don’t have a candidate yet. But I will not be basing my presidential pick on what the candidate looks like, thank you very much.