Does intelligence in men intimidate you?

[CaptainClueless]

Girls, if a guy is smarter than you, like a lot smarter, do you find it attractive or intimidating?

[Hidden_P]

No not really. My father and mother both have phds in chemistry, all of my brothers have degrees.

I’m the only one who doesn’t have a degree.

My dad is a leading technical expert, my brother am integral software engineer for finance reasons, another brother a leading engineer in oil rigging:

And I can draw pretty pictures.

[JustAnotherGirlie]

No it’s not intimidating, it’s refreshing. The problem is when it’s paired with arrogance. Men who are very intelligent often know this and aren’t afraid to remind you. It’s annoying and I prefer not to deal with that.

But there are smart men who are down to earth. And that’s pretty great

[Clyde_123]

Great answer!😘

[TheLaila]

Depends on the 'kind' of smart he is. If he wants to intimidate me and make me feel inferior on purpose that would be a turn off. But if he is smart, he knows it but doesn't overwhelm me on purpose I'd definitely be interested. Intelligence is always hot.

[CaptainClueless]

Now we're getting to the root of the problem!
OK, say if a guy is unintentionally making you feel inferior, because he sees potential and expects more from you? How would you respond then? Would you assume he's trying to make you feel inferior?

[TheLaila]

I would prefer using my mind when I'm around him and that in my opinion is not a bad thing. However, if I'm insecure or unable to embrace my sensibility and feel bad about myself for not reaching upto his level then that might not be his fault but mine for not believing in myself. In this kinda situation I would usually say something straightforward like telling him how he's actually more expressive than me (wouldn't necessarily say smart ;) ) and that actually makes the other person more understanding of the situation.

[CaptainClueless]

You have given me a lot to think about.
I can recall an old crush, we're talking like 4 or 5 years ago, saying to me "I'm sorry I'm not as great as you!"
It came out of the blue for me, didn't know where it came from. I just responded with "What?"
She said "Nothing, nevermind."
I said "You doin' alright?"
She said "Yeah, girl stuff."
Figured that meant period so I dropped it.
It's funny, only now do I realize I unintentionally made her insecure about her own intelligence. I talked with her expecting she could converse on the same level. I did that with a lot of crushes.
For someone so smart, I sure am fucking stupid.

[smølf]

Intelligence and Americans definition of being smart is not the same thing. Besides intelligence aka IQ and social intelligence is two different things, adn most women prefer social intelligence over IQ.

[DaTruth01]

this is the smart man all women want and talk about, when they think smart they think "he has everything i want in a man plus smarts :

i.pinimg.com/.../...in-glasses-wearing-glasses.jpg

[pari22]

Both and the thing is I love intimidating guys. Also they're challenging and keep you on your toes. It motivates me to gain more knowledge so I can be of his level and discuss that topic confidently

[CaptainClueless]

Good to see there are people open and willing to learn!

[pari22]

That's right. Thanks

[reixun]

I LOVEEEEE smart boys, but only when they aren’t arrogant with it. My favorite moments are when my boo’s tells me shit I didn’t know because I love learning and random trivia. Smart boys make me wanna go to a museum and talk for hours about interpretations of art or reflections on historical pieces. With intelligence comes ambition and passion for whatever he’s going to do in life. Ugh I just love smart guys

[NomNom16]

Super attractive to me, and i hope he has good social skill too.
I usually found someone who's very intelligent doesn't have good social skill and sometimes too cocky. That's why i didn't date my colleague...

[CaptainClueless]

I am guilty on both accounts. I think our poor social skills is attributed by an almost nihilistic outlook.

[NomNom16]

Or too cocky because they thought they know everything... I was an engineering student, so some of them i knew like that. But either way, i still choose intelligent men.

[CaptainClueless]

That's not really what I meant by nihilistic. I meant more along the lines of:
"Oh you don't like hearing reality, nor are you willing to learn? Then you don't matter, your judgement doesn't matter. I'll say what I want, you're just background noise."
That is the intelligent, nihilistic mindset.
It's not that we like berating or putting people down, it's that there is an inherent loneliness associated with having intelligence. One that 99% of people can never understand.

[NomNom16]

That's sad

[CaptainClueless]

But to catch a guy who is very intelligent, you don't have to be as smart as he is.
All you need to be is genuinely interested in learning new things. It's a mindset change, that's it. Being interested and open to new ideas is the single hottest thing you can do.

[NomNom16]

Agreed. 😊

[estoydorado1]

Not really. There are many different types of intelligence. I have pretty high social, emotional, and experiential intelligence, I'm almost completely able to recall everything I've ever heard, and I don't base my self-worth off of others' accomplishments.

I find competence to be a very attractive trait in the opposite sex. Just because he's read more books doesn't mean he's better able to face down the real world. Keep that in mind too.

[i_am_shyvana]

I consider myself to be smart, and if a guy was smarter than me i wouldn't really find it intimidating, just impressive and i'd want him to teach me things that he knows. either that or i will let my competitive side release and try and learn whatever he knows

[desperatelyhungry]

I find it attractive, unless he's one of those people who rub it in. I would be worried about appearing dumb to him unless he had a good personality and could laugh off me knowing less than him. I think it's cute knowing that if I need help with math homework (and I will because I'm dumb af) he could help me.

[Anonymous]

There aren't many guys who are smarter than me, so guys don't intimidate me very much at all. :)

[CaptainClueless]

I know that feeling all too well :)

[Opinion Owner]

:) :)

[Fevster35]

Challenging but its the best , you can learn more on him.

[karahiri]

it's only intimidating if he is also socially intelligent. if he's smart but awkward as fuck, then... it doesn't matter, i don't want to date someone like that anyway.

[Kkaos]

Is him being socially intelligent intimidating because he could try to use that to manipulate you or something?

[karahiri]

@Kkaos it's more like he comes off as flawless.

[Levin]

Awkwardness can be quite charming :(

[karahiri]

@Levin Sometimes.

[mermaid175]

It's only unattractive if he is cocky about it or makes fun of me for not being "as smart as him."

[CaptainClueless]

I'm cocky about it, I'll own that. But I back my capabilities and claims with action.

[Sophylism]

I love it. That's why I always surround myself with smarter people in general. Although I feel intimidated I feel like that would help me want to try to catch up.

[BatmansWife]

I find it attractive. If he knows more about a certain subject or something than I do, I'll ask him to explain it to me.

[Kiki98]

It's extremely attractive, every guy i have ever had a crush on was really smart and clever, i believe it's one of the sexiest things in a man

[Anonymous]

I find it super sexy, he becomes more attractive and intimidating at the same time. If I really like him, I’d make the extra effort of understanding his interests and his mind.

[CaptainClueless]

Being open minded and open to learning new things is the sexiest thing a woman can do in my eyes. :)

[AFishy2]

No! I can appreciate a smart man... It is nice when there is brains inside a head lol

[menina]

I don't see why this would be intimidating. I actually find it very attractive and sexy haha

[QueenofCups]

Smart guys are attractive, but very few guys are a lot smarter than me.

[Matt57]

I don't see why women would be intimidated by intelligent men, or that men would be intimidated by intelligent women.

[Tgec2003]

No I’d find it attractive
I’m kinda smart so I like intelligence

[datgirl]

Its attractive, but I maybe a little bit intimidated.

[CaptainClueless]

Explain?