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Women Prefer Nerds
Researchers at Elon University have discovered that women find intelligence sexy. As the New Scientist reports:
Rather than ask women to rate qualities they seek in men, as other studies had done, Prokosch's team asked 15 college men to perform a series of tasks on camera.
The volunteers read news reports, explained why they would be a good date, and what would be the ramifications of the discovery of life on Mars. They also threw and caught a Frisbee to parade their physical appeal. Each potential suitor also took a quantitative test of verbal intelligence.
More than 200 women watched a series of these videos before rating each man's intelligence, attractiveness, creativity and appeal for a short-term or long-term relationship...
Women proved to be decent judges of intelligence, with their scores generally matching each man's intelligence test results.
As for picking a bed-mate, the men's actual smartness proved a reliable indicator of their appeal for both brief hook-ups and serious relationships – which came as something of a surprise. Other studies have suggested that, for women anticipating short-term relationships, a man's braininess isn't foremost in their minds.
The disparate results may be due to women's lack of awareness that intelligence also affects the attractiveness of candidates for quick flings – how intelligent women perceived a man to be influenced his desirability as a long-term mate much more than his appeal for a one-night stand.
But the results are too good to be true. High SAT scores may be desirable, but they are not enough. Women want it all. As the article explains:
Looks were still a much more powerful predictor of sex appeal than brains. "Women are still going for the hunk," [Elon University evolutionary biologist Mark] Prokosch says. "If you had an option to pick from five different people, you would pick the most attractive one."
So in a perfect world, women want a Nobel prize winner with movie-star looks.
So guys, if you want the gals, it doesn't hurt to drop by the gym on the way back from the computer lab.
Whole New Scientist article here.
|10.7.08 @ 4:54PM|#
What women say they want in a man and the men they actually bang casts serious doubt on the methodology of this study.
xx|10.7.08 @ 4:55PM|#
Pack some meat and the bitches will come. This supposed scientific study has to many variables.
|10.7.08 @ 4:57PM|#
They also threw and caught a Frisbee to parade their
physical appeal
Really?? Throwing/Catching a Frisbee parades ones physical
appeal?
Bingo|10.7.08 @ 4:57PM|#
Women want an ATM with a security blanket and a 12-inch vibrating dildo attached to it.
Paul|10.7.08 @ 5:03PM|#
Researchers at Elon University have discovered that women find intelligence sexy. As the New Scientist reports:
No they don't, otherwise I'd have women coming out my ass.
Oh, and they don't find funny sexy either.
Just fyi...
|10.7.08 @ 5:05PM|#
Really?? Throwing/Catching a Frisbee parades ones physical
appeal?
All those guys playing frisbee in every quad in the universe (not
to mention the Ultimate set) don't look so dumb anymore.
Playing frisbee while talking about life on Mars? Be still
my heart. =P
Paul|10.7.08 @ 5:05PM|#
Women want an ATM with a security blanket and a 12-inch
vibrating dildo attached to it.
Money, women find sexy. Bingo wins.
Find a woman who'll marry down and... INTRODUCE ME! She might be my
next girlfriend.
Bingo|10.7.08 @ 5:10PM|#
Basically, intelligence increases the likelihood that the individual is wealthy. They don't like intelligence because they're interested in astrophysics or engineering equations.
|10.7.08 @ 5:11PM|#
oof, gotta a lot of folks talking about "what women want" with a
absolute reek of "bitter" in the air.
Sorry it's not working out for you dudes. Although I don't think
your attitudes are helping any.
|10.7.08 @ 5:18PM|#
The studies I've read suggest that women really don't want
money, they want status. Essentially they choose mates based on
whether that choice will reflect positively on them to the public
at large. Often that revolves around superficial things apparent to
strangers: job status, good looks, fame, model of car and physical
health. But, depending on the woman, they can also include more
intimate status clues: kindness, reliability, fidelity,
intelligence, etc. Those are actually good reasons to choose a
mate.
What you will find is that younger women will find the first set
more compelling and so will women in the initial stages of choosing
someone. As the relationship progresses the second will become more
important.
These studies also suggest that the biological imperatives from a
man's perspective differ greatly, meaning the cues are for more
centered around the woman's ability to procreate.
How much of any of that is actually true, I have no idea, but it
does seem to make some sense. As always with things of this nature,
YMMV.
|10.7.08 @ 5:20PM|#
This crack team of researchers got paid to figure out that women are attracted to good-looking, intelligent men. Where do a sign up for a research gig like that? I figure with enough grant money, I'll be able to prove definitively that men are attracted to women with large breasts.
|10.7.08 @ 5:20PM|#
Scott Adams comments on the Science report and takes it into the
future.
http://dilbert.com/blog/entry/hot_nerds/
Andy|10.7.08 @ 5:23PM|#
To quote a foreign exchange student asked why he didn't have a
girlfriend here - "No money, no honey."
These studies are all stupid, imo. Girls are people. People are
messed up in the head. Therefore, girls are messed up in the head.
Some want good looking morons, some want good looking guys who they
have to take care of (which is really annoying to see) some want
artistic ability, some want kindness, some want a protector, some
want religious guys, etc.
But the basics are true. Looks and wealth certainly don't hurt.
rhywun|10.7.08 @ 5:26PM|#
I gotta agree--this is yet another example of throwing research dollars out the window, complete with counter-intuitive headline and obvious truth buried at the end.
Kolohe|10.7.08 @ 5:35PM|#
Now that the boys and girls at CERN have some time on their hands, they are working to combine this thread with a feminsting one to achieve basically the same results.
Paul|10.7.08 @ 5:37PM|#
Basically, intelligence increases the likelihood that the
individual is wealthy.
Aha...ahahaha! Hahahahahahahaha! Ahahahahahahaha! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAAA!
Hahahaaaaaaaaaaaaa! Ahahahahahahahahahahaha!
Oh, that's a threadwinner, Bingo. You take the cake on that
one.
Oh wait, you're not serious, are you?
Shelli|10.7.08 @ 5:38PM|#
My gentleman friend is rather nerdy, but I do find his brain
very sexy. I love it when he talks geeky to me. When he talks all
that investment and financial-speak I just go crazy over him.
And of course another part of him is sexy too. And he's smart
enough to use it well instead of some dumb ape that just jumps on
and jumps off.
SIV|10.7.08 @ 5:39PM|#
Anecdotal evidence supports Voros' contention.
I used to date a totally hot debutante with a graduate degree and a
trust fund. She thought I was hot,great in the sack and the
smartest guy she ever met(even after the dumping). When she left me
I figured some doctor,lawyer, investment banker was in for some
good pussy and a moody disposition. Bitch married a fat guy with an
english PhD, 100k+ in debt and just starting a tenure track
position at a Junior college in some shitty rural town.
He was likely to earn less to no more than me indefinitely. I kinda
hinted around to ask what she saw in him. She told me she always
dreamed of being the wife of a college professor(Status).Happy
ending, she got fat(and not in any good way).Couldn't see that
coming from her body type or genetics.They just started eating
together.
Paul|10.7.08 @ 5:42PM|#
I get the impression that you don't truck with
skanks.
Well, ok, I do have some standards. What they are, dare not
say.
Naga Sadow|10.7.08 @ 5:43PM|#
I too have lost a hot chick to a fat guy with a masters in English. Crazy ass fucker is now in Denver studying . . . gun smithing. I fucking kid you not . . . gun smithing.
Naga Sadow|10.7.08 @ 5:46PM|#
Clearly you should tend bar like me. Almost everyone of the waitresses at my casino make roughly 60k to 80k a year and almost everyone is a multiple divorcee with a skeazy boyfriend or new husband. All you have to do is be yourself. Plus, they will ask you out if they think you're too shy.
|10.7.08 @ 5:48PM|#
smacky,
I think this is a perfect way to separate the wheat from the chaff.
Anyone who can't realize that women aren't an undifferentiated mass
with common wants and desires should be free to express that in an
open forum. So they can die virgins, or life-long customers.
On the other hand, any woman easily lured into a relationship
solely by looks and money gets the cretin they deserve.
Paul|10.7.08 @ 5:49PM|#
Some want good looking [wealthy] morons, some want good
looking guys who they have to take care of (which is really
annoying to see) some want artistic ability [with money], some want
kindness [with money], some want a protector [see: money], some
want religious guys [with money], etc.
Fixed.
My gentleman friend is rather nerdy, but I do find his brain
very sexy. I love it when he talks geeky to me. When he talks all
that investment and financial-speak I just go crazy over
him.
Case. In. Point.
I loooove when women talk all financial and shit, too.
Problem is, they want me to do all the financial
talkin'.
And of course another part of him is sexy too.
The bulge in the back of his pants, I'll bet.
"She doesn't have to actually get the check, I just want her to
reach for it. I just want a reach, just a reach, is all I
ask."
BTW: I'm just havin' fun with y'all. I'm not that bitter,
I just find it makes for good one-liners.
Paul|10.7.08 @ 5:50PM|#
Crazy ass fucker is now in Denver studying . . . gun
smithing. I fucking kid you not . . . gun smithing.
Heir to a fortune?
SIV|10.7.08 @ 5:50PM|#
Naga,
Sounds alright if you want to be the skeazy bf. Not so good to be
the new husband.
|10.7.08 @ 5:51PM|#
SIV and Naga,
Fuck you. I'm a fat guy with an English degree! Of course I stole
my wife from a guy who runs a rundown movie theater...
HAHAHAHAHAHA!
Paul|10.7.08 @ 5:51PM|#
Plus, they will ask you out if they think you're too
shy.
Wow, I'm hangin' out in the wrong places.
Naga Sadow|10.7.08 @ 5:53PM|#
No such explanation is forthcoming I'm afraid. Apparently his divorce made him question his teaching English in a middle school, then he goes an dates my ex. One day she tells me he wants to do gun smithing. What the hell do you say to that? She had never been to Denver so she tagged along. Wierd.
Naga Sadow|10.7.08 @ 5:54PM|#
SugarFree,
Not knocking you. As Epi has stated previously, you're the brains
of the outfit. Makes sense you can convince women to love on
you.
SIV|10.7.08 @ 5:58PM|#
A good gunsmith doesn't have to advertise. The best don't even have space on their waiting lists.They are usually dealers and often get first crack at their customer's estates.If you are good and like the work it is a great job and you are your own boss.
Naga Sadow|10.7.08 @ 5:58PM|#
SIV, Paul,
Casinos are great places my friend. Good example is when I was
working at the Isle of Capri Casino. One of our cocktail waitresses
slept with one of the dudes from Bush's Secret Service detail. How
did we find out? The ops manager caught her coming out of one of
our suites. Went straight to work after that.
Naga Sadow|10.7.08 @ 5:59PM|#
SIV,
You make it sound less stupid. "I reject your reality, and
substitute my own"!
|10.7.08 @ 6:00PM|#
Naga,
My powers of mental seduction are wasted. I've been with my wife 16
years. :-(
Paul|10.7.08 @ 6:01PM|#
Apparently his divorce made him question his teaching
English in a middle school,
Wow, he gave up a lot of
money.
Paul|10.7.08 @ 6:03PM|#
My powers of mental seduction are wasted. I've been with my
wife 16 years.
Wow, if I were your wife, I'd be pissed at that remark.
|10.7.08 @ 6:03PM|#
Damn, I go away for a few hours and Ron posts this. Such an
opportunity for comedy.
On the other hand, any woman easily lured into a relationship
solely by looks and money gets the cretin they deserve.
What are you implying, NutraSweet?
Naga Sadow|10.7.08 @ 6:05PM|#
Paul,
I live in Mississippi. Try looking at the salary levels then.
Ha!
|10.7.08 @ 6:15PM|#
This confirms what I suspected:
All of you whiners on H&R who complain that you could not get
laid in a women's prison with a fist full of pardons are just a
bunch of dumb asses.
johnl|10.7.08 @ 6:22PM|#
Guys, learn to like "The Fray". Don't know why really but girls
like them. Go to your local record shop and do demographics. I
haven't checked but I think it's mostly gals taking in Yael Naim,
Priscilla Ahn, ... There must be someone you can learn to
like.
Gals, learn to like CYHSY or MMJ.
|10.7.08 @ 6:22PM|#
Wow, if I were your wife, I'd be pissed at that
remark.
Any woman who would get pissed at a joke wouldn't last long as my
wife.
Naga Sadow|10.7.08 @ 6:37PM|#
I hope for a libertarian cause that will help everone but really just enrich you. That I could respect and understand.
Mike Laursen|10.7.08 @ 6:45PM|#
Frisbee?! Really? Everybody knows (except, evidently, the researchers) that Frisbee is a nerd sport. Which means this experiment had absolutely no control.
|10.7.08 @ 7:00PM|#
Younger people (women AND men) tend to go for more superficial
attributes. Older, wiser, and burned, they tend to go for
intelligence, courtesy, things like that.
Now, if I can phrase that in professorial gobbledegook, I can get
grant money to discover the amazingly obvious.
economist|10.7.08 @ 7:23PM|#
Next study: Men are attracted by big boobs and a skinny waist. I'm personally not a fan of big butts, but that's just me (no pun intended).
|10.7.08 @ 7:24PM|#
I'd be more interested in a study that finally determines which band member gets the most tail ... the lead singer, the guitar player, the bass player or the drummer? Of course, the lighting guy should also be included, but we all know that's just so they don't feel left out.
Just Plain Brian|10.7.08 @ 7:41PM|#
I'd be more interested in a study that finally determines which band member gets the most tail ... the lead singer, the guitar player, the bass player or the drummer?
Me, too - at first it seems like a simple question, because in most
bands it will be either the lead singer or guitar player. But as
much as the bass player is generally forgotten, I bet both Paul
McCartney and Les Claypool have done surprisingly well for
themselves. And of course we've all seen that tape with Tommy Lee,
so you can't count drummers out completely.
|10.7.08 @ 7:42PM|#
The best option (IMO) is a handsome nerd. They are likely to be
loyal and considerate, also capable of earning a lot of
money.
Unfortunately, these usually get married off immediately before
they realize what good commodities they are.
Paul|10.7.08 @ 7:42PM|#
I live in Mississippi. Try looking at the salary levels
then. Ha!
I did, and then I looked at the cost of living... they're doin'
ok.
/mild sarcasm
Older, wiser, and burned, they tend to go for intelligence,
courtesy, things like that.
Add a phat bank account, intelligence and courtesy are mere
bonuses.
the lead singer, the guitar player, the bass player or the
drummer?
Definitely not the drummer. He usually dies of some overdose or
other accident... like spontaneous combustion.
economist|10.7.08 @ 9:18PM|#
"the lighting guy"
Please, we prefer "roadies". (Note: I was once a roadie for a band
in college. Didn't really go anywhere, obviously. Unfortunately,
during its brief run I never did catch any tail.
|10.7.08 @ 11:03PM|#
SIV's boast at 5:39 was great. Reminded me of this:
http://lonelymachines.org/mall-ninjas/
So let me get this straight, this beautiful woman thought that you
were great in bed AND the smartest person that she had ever
met?
Abdul|10.8.08 @ 7:36AM|#
If Naga shadow wrote a book about tending bar in a Mississipi casino and the antics of the waitress skanks, I would be a guranteed buyer. These stories are only disappointing in that they're too short.
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