When I initially read this post by thought I finally figured out why I wasn't the Don Juan I pretended to be: my massive intellect was cock blocking me. Unfortunately, involuntary abstinence can't always be attributed to smarts. There are other factors to consider, such as my intimidating bulge. Yeah, that must be it.
I have a mini-confession to make: I wrote the Tao of Dating books specifically for really smart people. The writing of the books was precipitated by the endemic dating woes on the Harvard campus, as I observed them as an advisor and earlier, indulged in them as a student.
Those kids graduate and pretty much continue to have the same dating woes — only now with fewer single people around who happen to live in the same building and share meals with them every day. So if they had challenges then, it gets about 1,000 times worse once they're tossed from the warm womb of their alma mater.
This article appears in Mar 11-17, 2009.