When the mind encounters a face that by all accounts should be seen as incredibly strange looking, but instead interprets it as ridiculously attractive. This term is displayed strongly by, and named for, British actor Benedict Cumberbatch.
Girl one: "His cheekbones don't even make sense, and his head is so tall. He should be ugly. . . why am I aroused?"
Girl two: "It's the Cumberbatch Effect"
Girl one: "It's just like James Marsters all over again"
Girl two: "It's the Cumberbatch Effect"
Girl one: "It's just like James Marsters all over again"
by TheBabyBear November 3, 2011