Today in Depressing News: Science Discovers Men Are Intimidated by Clever Women
Brace yourselves for this one, ladies. If you’re currently working on your PhD or that soon-to-be award-winning novel and wondering why quantum physics is a thousand times easier than nailing down a date, there might just be a scientific reason for your dilemma. But to be totally honest, it’s somewhat — nay, entirely — infuriating. According to a recent study conducted by researchers at the Warsaw School of Economics, men are attracted to ladies who are smart… but only up to a very certain point.
In an attempt to discover exactly how men and women select partners, researchers analyzed data from the Columbia University speed-dating experiment, in which over 500 students participated. In the experiment, both the men and women were asked to rank their matches on a 10-point scale based on both attractiveness and intelligence, respectively.
When it came to what matters most to women, lead researcher Adam Karbowski found that attractiveness plays an important role (because obviously it does). But if a potential mate has a genius-level brain (say a 10/10) he only needs to come in at a five on the beauty scale for you to be 75 percent likely to go out with him. In other words, unattractiveness is relative to a high level of intelligence for ladies. However, this is not exactly the case for men.
Karbowski found that for men, there is a peak level of intelligence women can reach before it begins to become unattractive. What is it exactly? A seven out of 10. And weirdly enough, if you’re the most beautiful woman in the world it still wouldn’t up your chances if you’re a genius. Psychology Today writes, “At every level of attractiveness, the optimum level of intelligence is somewhere around seven out of 10.”
Sadly, the reason for this depressing finding will probably come as a bit of a “duh.” Psychology Today cites a paper published in late 2015 that writes, “Men may be less attracted to women who outperform them and this could be due to momentary shifts in their self-evaluations.” Basically, your above average intelligence threatens men’s delicate egos.
So what the F are we supposed to do with this total buzzkill of information? Play dumb? NEVER. Our vote: It’s frustrating, but hold out for the dude who will actually value you for your smarts – even if it’s above a seven on Karbowski’s scale. Because a make-out sesh with a dude who thinks you’re super hot could be fun as a one-time thing, but not really a buildable base for a serious, balanced relationship. Keep calm and smart on, all you brainy babes.
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