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SeventhNadir comments on Let them eat cake: Interpersonal Problems vs Tasks - Less Wrong
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"Implication: Because extreme IQs are much rarer in girls than in guys, we have to either compete for a few highly intelligent, intellectually stimulating females who may share our lack in social skills, OR settle for merely above average IQ females who may lack some intellectual sparkle, but may be easier to find and better socially developed."
Oh come now, I doubt the problem is that there are not enough 'smart girls,' and more that smart girls go for successful men and not isolated introverts. Actually, some of my more intelligent friends complain that they can't find a man (that they would consider dating) that isn't threatened by their intelligence. I've also heard the lament that successful men want housewives, but I don't have much evidence for it. And also, how important is IQ in your mate preference really? It seems from my observations that 'nerdy' guys want quirky girls more than intelligent ones- the natalie protmans and junos (gag me with a spoon) of the world.
Now is this a social narrative, a post hoc justification of a failed relationship fueled by the self serving bias, or something else entirely?
Dating is one area of interest where anecdotage should be taken with a mountain of salt.
One way of testing the hypothesis that (many) men are put off by intelligent women would be to look at all the couples in a social circle. Is it true that none of the intelligent women are in heterosexual relationships?
While that idea is, in my eyes, a good blend of effective and practical, it doesn't rule out all confounding explanations. If this pattern was found, it would not necessarily prove that their potential mates were intimidated by their intelligence.
Perhaps a way of testing it would be going to a dating service and telling random men that the woman they were dating was very intelligent (regardless of her actual intelligence)?
Reactions to profiles on dating services would be a good general test, though it might be harder to pull out data on particular social groups.
Do you believe that, in general people are bad at telling why they have trouble attracting partners, or do you think that the idea that men are put off by intelligent women is an especially unlikely hypothesis?
The former due to the rose tinted glasses of the self serving bias and the fundimental attribution error.
On a personal note I'm very attracted to intelligent women but I wouldn't be surprised at all if men in general did find intellectual women intimidating.