Ratty

An awful lot can be expressed in nuances: reputation, success, and failure among them. So it can be nothing less than a colossal error to assume that someone is either a success or failure by appearance. Yet it’s probably one of the most common failings.
You see someone near an artist’s booth at a show and wish the scruffy bum would make way so you could appreciate the photo display better. But, instead, you give the beggar a withering glare and make a shooing gesture with your hand.
And where might you find Todd Winter, you ask the artist in the neighboring booth? ” Todd, that’s him over there in ratty clothes, not much to look at but a genius with a camera.”

Oops.