It appears Mensa and Match.com are teaming up to build a genius dating site. Most likely it is a publicity stunt for both side. Match gets some discussion in the news cycles and Mensa gets some applicants. Dating sites mostly cater to women and women would like some assurances they are seeing high quality males. Men, of course, are good at faking this, so maybe the idea is to have Mensa sort the low-IQ sociopaths from the the regular horny guys.

Online dating site Match.com is teaming up with Mensa, a high-IQ membership organization, to connect really, really smart people.

Only users who fulfill Mensa requirements by testing in the 98th percentile on an IQ test can sign up for the exclusive dating website launched this week.

Mensa Match members will be linked up with other Mensa members, as well as with other Match members, said John McGill, national marketing director for American Mensa.

Interesting. The geniuses will also get matched with the lunkheads and, of course, the lunkheads will get a crack at the geniuses. That is, after all, the only way such an arrangement could work. Otherwise, you have to exclude the geniuses from the lunkheads and vice versa. Male geniuses will want to have a shot with the dumb hotties for obvious reasons. The dumb hotties will want to see the nerd boys, because they most likely have good jobs and make a good salary.

“Meeting people at a higher intellectual level can really enhance your relationships,” McGill said.

American Mensa has more than 57,000 members and an estimated 6 million Americans are eligible for membership, according to the organization’s website.

Scott Porter, who has signed up for Mensa Match, said he joined the organization to meet people, and Mensa Match seems like a natural extension of that.

“I’ve hit walls in relationships where I got to the point of, What are we going to talk about next?” said Scott Porter, who has signed up for Mensa Match.

He said he’s noticed that intelligent people are generally curious. “If you get someone who’s curious, you can probably always find something to talk about.”

Brainpower is important to most, according to Match, which reports 80% of singles said dating someone of the same intelligence is a “must have” or “very important.”

I don’t think there’s much in the way of science to support any of this. Males want women who will be good mothers. If they are older and no longer having children, then they are primarily interested in women who have not let themselves fall to pieces. In general, men want women who will bear and raise their children and help elevate their status. Take away the kids and you’re left with women who elevate status. Dating a fat granny is not doing that for you.

On the other hand, women are wired to seek out high status males. In this age, high IQ is going to correlate to higher status and higher income. My bet is more women use dating sites than men so it would explain why Match is doing this. That said, most middle-aged women will take a good looking lawyer over a dumpy genius. Women are far more pragmatic in their mating habits than men.

Then there’s the other side of the equation. Adults who are into Mensa are probably unpleasant to be around for normal people. When I was a kid, I joined Mensa because the adults around me thought it would help me get into college one day. One meeting and I was pretty sure I did not want to turn out like those weirdos. Maybe things have changed, but I would not be surprised if the members are even more annoying and weird in this age of the fake nerd. Giving them a place to meet and find mates is probably a potential money maker for Mensa.