I have been considered both highly intelligent and more than moderately attractive (to the level that my intelligence has been questioned) so I feel that I can answer this question.
It’s… Interesting.
I have come to view it as an experiment for grouping new acquaintances.
My control group is people I already know.
I like to sit back on first meetings and not say much, to see what other people’s assumptions are about me. They tend to fall into:
1. She’s intelligent and deep
2. She’s a bimbo that I have to explain everything to
Curiously, this is usually after someone has done some preliminary research on me, but I’ve found when you meet someone in person you tend to make snap judgements anyway.
The bimbo group could decide I could have totally lied throughout my resume and that I’ve hired ghost writers to write all my Quora and blog articles. Who knows? Doesn’t matter. They see my physical attributes and since I’m not saying anything it gives them the ability to make a snap judgement.
Of course, when I do start talking, the veil lifts, their illusion pops, and they often breathe a sigh of relief.
Then it doesn’t matter which group you were in, because they now only see my intelligence.
Which can be exhausting – because I get tossed things that I have no idea about simply because I’m the one that “everybody knows” can “do stuff.”
I find myself constantly saying “I’m an engineer not a…” and yet I get thrown things That aren’t in my wheelhouse all the time because I am resourceful…
So, what is it like to be attractive and intelligent?
The TL;DR version is that it becomes exhausting since people want to be around you (since you aren’t a monstrous bitch) and they also want to work with you.
And, like other women here, I was not attractive when I was younger. Not even close.
Here’s proof:
Originally Posted: https://www.quora.com/How-does-it-feel-to-be-both-highly-attractive-and-highly-intelligent
Originally Posted On: 2015-12-01