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Smarter Teens Have Less Sex

Tech.Luver writes "Gene Expression reports, "Tyler Cowen quotes from a new study testing the relationship between grades and delayed sexual activity. Last December I passed a paper along to Razib showing that high-school age adolescents with higher IQs and extremely low IQs were less likely to have had first intercourse than those with average to below average intelligence. (i.e. for males with IQs under 70, 63.3% were still virgins, for those with IQs between 70-90 only 50.2% were virgin, 58.6% were virgins with IQs between 90-110, and 70.3% with IQs over 110 were virgins) In fact, a more detailed study from 2000 is devoted strictly to this topic, and finds the same thing: Smart Teens Don't Have Sex (or Kiss Much Either). ""

39 of 1,285 comments (clear)

  1. ohh by SuperDre · · Score: 5, Funny

    Well, then I must have been ultrasmart... :(

    1. Re:ohh by Mr.+Underbridge · · Score: 5, Funny

      From the article: "...adolescents with higher IQs and extremely low IQs were less likely to have had first intercourse..."

      Well, then I must have been ultrasmart... :(

      Or extremely stupid. ;)

  2. Not me by My+name+is+Bucket · · Score: 5, Funny

    I've got a girlfriend in Brazil. She's a model and I can go down and have sex with her whenever I want.

  3. Bad news for slashdotters by 140Mandak262Jamuna · · Score: 5, Funny

    Since slashdotters have typically IQ in the range of 160 to 220, the will remain virgins till age 72 or so by my extrapolation.

    --
    sed -e 's/Chuck Norris/Rajnikant/g' joke > fact
    1. Re:Bad news for slashdotters by BitterOak · · Score: 5, Funny

      Since slashdotters have typically IQ in the range of 160 to 220, the will remain virgins till age 72 or so by my extrapolation.

      So you're saying that based on the average Slashdot post, you would assign an IQ of 160 to 220 to the general Slashdot population. I assume you're joking. (People with Mod points, however, are actually extremely intelligent and discerning.)

      --
      If I can be modded down for being a troll, can I be modded up for being an orc, or a balrog?
    2. Re:Bad news for slashdotters by everphilski · · Score: 5, Funny

      People with Mod points, however, are actually extremely intelligent and discerning.

      So you are saying they don't get laid? :)

  4. Idiocracy by bunratty · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Idiocracy, here we come!

    --
    What a fool believes, he sees, no wise man has the power to reason away.
  5. Converse not true by Trivial_Zeros · · Score: 5, Funny

    I know this is Slashdot, so the majority of users have not had sex. But if you think this article is implying that means you're smart.. you have just committed a common logical fallacy. Sorry to burst your bubble.

  6. Re:I Believe... by Mayhem178 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Uh huh. And later in life, they're called "Yes sir, right away, sir!"

    --

    "You will pay for your lack of vision..." - Emperor Palpatine to Ray Charles

  7. That explains... by grub · · Score: 5, Funny


    That explains the mouth-breathing 14 year olds pushing their babies in strollers and carrying another in their belly I see lumbering around downtown Winnipeg at lunch. They should coat welfare cheques with birth control hormones.

    --
    Trolling is a art,
    1. Re:That explains... by Opportunist · · Score: 5, Funny

      Damn right, if they could breath through their nose, they could easily avoid getting pregnant.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    2. Re:That explains... by ThousandStars · · Score: 5, Insightful
      that not only were people like this allowed to breathe the same air

      If only laws prevented that! Surely eugenics is the answer, or perhaps some other form of law to keep the higher-quality people from those lower-quality ones.

      They're going to spend the rest of their miserable, worthless lives on welfare, no doubt failing to raise their bastard kids properly.

      Who are you to say that their lives will be miserable and worthless? To those living them, perhaps their lives are rich and provide emotional sustenance, or seem worthy and interesting. It is dangerous to try and judge someone from the outside, and if you hold the rest of humanity in such low regard, perhaps you should think about what is happening in your own life that you castigate others as you do.

      Robertson Davies sometimes writes about such people who are left behind by time or technology or society, and writes about them with great sympathy. In The Cunning Man a doctor treats patients with more than just science, and in Conversation with Robertson Davies this exchange occurs:

      Cameron: Don't those novels show a fairly strong current of sympathy for some aspects of that [cultural] tradition?

      Davies: It is sympathy for the people -- not, I think the tradition -- because they are people. They're not caricatures, they're not oddities, they're not cardboard. They bleed when you stick them and they weep when they are miserable, and their sorrows and their distresses are made sometimes more poignant by the fact that they don't know why things are happening to them.

      I will lament that my penis has by then received so little use.

      Most women, I suspect, would choose a carefree bad boy over an angry, uptight Republican with a chip on his shoulder; Dan Savage makes a similar point in some of his columns. If you think ignorant fools can get laid so easily but someone as perspicacious as you wants to and can't, who is smart?

  8. Somethings wrong.. by GreggBz · · Score: 5, Funny

    I should be a super genius.

  9. Only proves which kids will *say* they've had sex by LighterShadeOfBlack · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Maybe smarter kids generally just don't feel the need to lie about having sex. And extremely stupid ones don't think to lie about it. Just a thought.

    --
    Spelling mistakes, grammatical errors, and stupid comments are intentional.
  10. quotes of quotes of quotes by UbuntuDupe · · Score: 5, Funny

    You gotta love how far-removed this quotation gets:

    Cmdr Taco posts that:
    Tech_Luver writes that:
    Gene Expression reports that:
    Tyler Cowen quotes from a:
    Razib paper showing that:
    A survey found that:

    ***

    I'm worried that if I tell someone that I read about this on slashdot, the universe might implode.

  11. Re:That's 'cause... by vfrex · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Now I am conflicted. Half of my inner geek wants to laugh and take the joke, and the other wants to rail on you for creating causation from correlation. But either way, I'm posting on /.

  12. Re:A usefull vote for a change by khendron · · Score: 5, Funny

    That should be:

    Below 15
    15
    16
    17
    18
    19+
    I'm saving myself for CowboyNeal (you insensitive clod!)

    --
    Life is like a web application. Sometime you need cookies just to get by.
  13. Re:A usefull vote for a change by Alpha830RulZ · · Score: 5, Funny

    You need to add the qualification: "... with another person."

    --
    I was taught to respect my elders. The trouble is, it's getting harder and harder to find some.
  14. Re:The question by Opportunist · · Score: 5, Funny

    I doubt it's less chance for sex. More that there's a lot else to do that's more fun. Like, writing a beautiful piece of code, surely beats wasting a night on hot sex.

    I'll go cry now.

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  15. Re:Evolution in Action by Hatta · · Score: 5, Funny

    Seriously, even among Slashdot readers, I doubt many of you guys would marry someone smarter than you.

    Of course not, but mostly because it's really hard to find someone smarter than me.

    --
    Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
  16. Re:This is a good thing by Hatta · · Score: 5, Insightful

    There is plenty of time for sex and sex when you think you know so much when you actually know very little is much more likely to lead to complications.

    But there's only so much time for sex with teenagers. Get it while you can guys.

    --
    Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
  17. Could be true by megaditto · · Score: 5, Interesting

    The real question is, are some teens getting less sex because they are smart, or are they smart because they are getting less sex (for whatever reason)?

    --
    Obama likes poor people so much, he wants to make more of them.
  18. Re:Queue Slashdot Reader Love Life Jokes by AKAImBatman · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Queue Slashdot Reader Love Life Jokes

    Slashdot readers have such high IQs that they realize that sex leads to babies, contraceptives don't work 100%, having intimate contact with some random person is a good way to get disease, and that one should save themselves for a life-partner so that they're ready for the responsibilities that come with sex while simultaneously avoiding the issue of STDs. So they don't have sex as teens.

    HAHAHAHA! Isn't that funny?

    ...

    Anyone?
  19. To Quote... by morari · · Score: 5, Interesting
    "An intellectual is someone who has found something more interesting than sex."

    Now if I could only remember who said that...

    --
    "He who can destroy a thing, controls a thing." --Paul Atreides, Dune
  20. Re:I Believe... by Lumpy · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Actually no. In reality you get to management by who you know and social skills.

    What you know and your IQ actually tend to hurt your chances.

    I hate to burst the geek bubble but it's truth.

    want proof? WOZ is a rich geek but never was upper management.

    Gates was never a geek, he was a poser and the face man. (sorry gate's early code is horrible and first year quality) he had business sense and knew people as well as has social skills in a bizzare way.

    Jobs = Face man he is the guy that makes you like him so much you will sell him your stuff at cost or buy his product by standing in a line outside for hours when there is no supply problems.

    If you are a geek and high IQ I STRONGLY suggest taking etiquette classes, social interaction classes and do everything in your power to have the knowledge to fake being good at party socializing. You have to be the guy that everyone loves in the first 15 minutes of meeting them. Speak eloquently, be good at faking that you really are interested in how well her pedicure went and how that CEO of that company had a horrifying day because he had to way 30 minutes for road service to show up and fix his flat tire.

    Crack the code of socalizing, get that one done and you will become upper management.

    --
    Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
  21. My theory on why... by BytePusher · · Score: 5, Insightful

    There are a few of reasons I think this might be true:
    1. Smarter teens believe that sex can be risky. Namely: Unwanted pregnancy, disease, emotional distress and not to mention social pressures from parents.
    2. Smarter teens may have higher standards as they are able to distinguish better between "good mate" and "not so good mate."
    2a. Finding a good mate may mean finding an intellectual equal.
    3. A deep fulfilling intellectual and emotional relationship may be more important than and a prerequisite to simple sexual pleasure.

  22. Probably a couple of factors... by petrus4 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    As an example case, I was a virgin until I was 26. Yes, if I'm honest it's true that I had utterly no clue how to understand or communicate with the opposite sex, but I'll also admit that sex quite simply isn't something that I've ever consistently had a strong interest in.

    Although this is nothing whatsoever against the person who this happened with, even after losing my virginity, I can remember thinking of that experience, while reasonably enjoyable and positive, as not seeming to deserve anything like the degree of hype that most people associate with the act. Most of the people I've known seem to regard sex as being the pinnacle of human experience, and that is an attitude which I find deeply sad.

    I know that a predictable response to this will probably be to speculate that I am in fact homosexual, but I do not believe that to be the case, and to be honest, that is something else about the customary attitude towards sex that I find deeply pathetic. Namely the idea that if a person doesn't have one preference, then they *must* by definition have another, because not being helplessly addicted to sex in either straight or gay form is supposedly completely impossible...in most people's minds, it just doesn't compute.

    Some of us honestly view reproduction as being the domain of animals. Given that we have more than enough other human beings who are quite happy to devote their own lives to that activity, this means that those of us who have that attitude are also able to persue the expansion and enhancement of our minds, without fear as to the possible consequences to the human population.

    If you're someone for whom sex is the most important element of your existence, I'd strongly advocate getting a life.

    1. Re:Probably a couple of factors... by SIIHP · · Score: 5, Insightful

      "Some of us honestly view reproduction as being the domain of animals."

      There it is. If you were being completely honest with yourself, you'd admit that you think your ability to do without sex makes you more evolved, more developed. That sentence displays your thinking quite obviously.

      Sadly for you, that's ridiculous. Sex is a wonderful, pleasant, somewhat messy, but ultimately fantastic part of the human experience. Missing out on it is not something to be celebrated.

      Yours is the classic sour grapes position. If I can't have it, it wasn't that good anyway.

      --
      I only go to buffets for the unlimited soft serve.
  23. Sounds About Right to Me by segedunum · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Having thought back to my High School days, much of this sounds pretty accurate. I know there'll be many Slashdot jokes around about this, but think seriously about it for a bit. Those who threw it out there too much at High School, how many of those people who you knew are now living on crap wages, in a crap job, are unmarried, uncommitted and immature parents or single mothers struggling to keep a roof over their heads with no ability to plan for the future?

    I live in the UK, but the answer in my case is all of the people I could think of scarily. I caught up with a few people from High School not long ago, and the stuff that's happened to many of the people from school who concentrated on sex and immature relationships is shocking. It's a tale of divorce, single motherhood, poverty and immaturity. These people also tend to be extremely crap at romantic and sexual relationships when they're older, as well as pretty immature. Taking one example, how many people in their late twenties think that getting married to someone you only met six months ago, divorcing that person a few years later, getting back together with an ex a few months after said divorce and having a baby with that person after only a few weeks or months of being together is mature? They still act like 15 year olds, and in some cases, worse.

    As for me, I have a good job with good money, working with people who I like and get on with, I have a lovely girlfriend and I'm still as horny as hell from all that High School abstinence ;-).

    Seriously though, looking around from my own personal experience, scarily, I think a whole social underclass is being created. I also think this is largely responsible for the increase in divorce, the increase in single motherhood and the inevitable problems for their children that has brought with it. Those having sex in High School generally just aren't mature enough to handle sex, and that's setting them up for life.

  24. Re: Smarter Teens Have Less Sex by orclevegam · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I'd say grades are a better measure of education than intelligence.

    I'm not quite sure what grades are a good measure of. Being able to color inside the lines? Following instructions and memorizing facts? Rarely they can measure understanding and creativity, but that's highly dependent on the skill of the instructor creating the assignments.

    --
    Curiosity was framed, Ignorance killed the cat.
  25. Re:Queue Slashdot Reader Love Life Jokes by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Even more important.. Why the foot is smashing Einstein's head?

  26. Re:Queue Slashdot Reader Love Life Jokes by AKAImBatman · · Score: 5, Insightful

    So you married the first woman that came along that didn't gag in your presence.

    If by "first woman" you mean, the first woman to captivate me with her beauty, grace, and intelligence, then I suppose you could say that. Certainly, I was never attracted to the types of airheads that less honorable boys find so easy to "get in the sack". When a girl took several weeks before she finally got the punchline to "there are three types of people in the world", I did not find it charming or cute. I found it horrifying, and would rather have stayed a virgin for the rest of my life than try to build a relationship with someone like that.

    If all you want in a mate is someone to have sex with, then that is your choice. I believe that God gave me a brain to think with and make intelligent decisions, not allow my loins to drive me. One of those decisions was staying true to who I am when finding a woman to spend my life with. And wouldn't you know it, the woman I chose was also the type to want more than just a physical relationship. She could have had any man she wanted, but she didn't. She chose me instead.

    A relationship like that makes one remember how unique that other person is. And how important it is to make the time, put in the effort, and give the attention necessary to keep that relationship thriving over the years.

    It's easy for me to give a flippant answer to a flippant statement, but I'd rather say something that will actually *help* people. And if there is one thing I can say, it's this: Relationships are about commitment. The best method of telling if someone is for you or not is not their looks or any "compatibility" tests. It's asking yourself if you're willing to devote the rest of your life to them and them to you. THAT is the true test of a relationship.
  27. Re:Queue Slashdot Reader Love Life Jokes by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    yeah, great idea, have it with as many people as possible. it sounds like STD Pokemon. "Gotta catch them all"

  28. I would really hate to live like that by SIIHP · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Nothing like avoiding the good things in life because you're afraid of the minuscule possibility that something might happen.

    --
    I only go to buffets for the unlimited soft serve.
  29. Re:Queue Slashdot Reader Love Life Jokes by mbeans · · Score: 5, Informative

    Sounds like someone's been thoroughly frightened by what passes for "sex education" in this country.

    The odds of a condom breaking are minuscule. If you're living in the United States and you're a heterosexual man, the odds of your partner being infected with HIV are low. The rate of female-to-male HIV transmission for vaginal sex is actually relatively low as well. Put all three of those together, and it doesn't take a genius to figure out that sex with a condom is a lot safer than things you probably do every day, such as driving a car.

    --
    "It was a billion times better than cobol, but still really retarded." -AC
  30. Re:A usefull vote for a change by StarfishOne · · Score: 5, Funny

    "... with another living person."

    There, just to be sure. There are a lot of strange people surfin' round on the intarweb ;p

  31. Re:Queue Slashdot Reader Love Life Jokes by BakaHoushi · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I am a 20 year old engineering major male white college student.
    I have a case of asperger's syndrome (And before anyone accuses me of being self-diagnosed, I'd not even heard of it until a therapist diagnosed me).
    And, not to sound egotistical, but I like to think that I have above-average intelligence. I'm not a genius, nor a whiz at anything, nor do I have Mensa begging for me to enroll, but I do feel I have sufficient evidence to suggest I'm smarter (using a definition akin to "able to interpret, recall, and use information) than the average 20 year old.

    Do I even need to add that I'm a complete virgin? I've never gotten to second base. Or first base. Hell, I didn't get up to bat. I'm not even a benchwarmer. (I just used up all my sports analogies.)

    My social skills have improved since grade school, and I'm nowhere near as shy as I used to be (But then again, it's no substitute for real interaction, but spend years online and you do tend to develop a tolerance to mockery and jerks.)

    But I've still never had a girlfriend. Not even close. I feel this is due to both a lack of interest, a lack of experience, well below-average social skills, and a lack of eligible bachelorettes (see: Engineering major).

    Quite frankly, in my free time between classes at my college I go to the lounge, where I meet a vast number of different people. Most of the females are:
    A: taken
    B: incompatible with my nature (I don't mind someone having different interests and ideas than me, but SOME common ground is nice.)
    C: Bat-shit crazy demons I wouldn't touch with a 39 and a half foot pole, let alone my bare hands.Many of these, in particular, I strongly suspect, are carrying a multitude of STDs, given how much they broadcast the sex they have.

    On top of all this lies a series of moral dilemmas, such as giving in to carnal desires when I know the risks, the necessity of intimacy, the risks of getting caught... It just seems too complicated and risky to be worth the effort, especially outside of a relationship. (Not to mention how DISGUSTING sex is, when you REALLY think about it. I mean considering the biological processes involved. Though I'm sure this is lost "in the heat of the moment," it doesn't really make me any more disposed to seeking it out)

    On the other hand, take my brother. Bless his soul for all the hard manual labor he does, and helping my father with his business so we didn't go OUT of business when he was injured, etc. But I use more brain power before 6am than he does all day. He admits proudly that he HATES to think and just acts. He's gone through girlfriends like candy and I'm sure has gotten laid more than a few times.

    Ultimately, it seems to me that love and sex are purely animalistic and primal desires with little to no logic to them. Thus, those prone to analyzing their actions OVER analyze these things and have less success or less desire or both.

    That, and my brother is currently out doing things. I'm on slashdot and going to go play City of Heroes in a while. That may have something to do with it, too.

  32. Re:Queue Slashdot Reader Love Life Jokes by Asphalt · · Score: 5, Funny
    It's not like being a 30 year old virgin makes you super smart or anything

    Thanks for debunking the rationale that gets me though the day.

    Can't you people let me have anything ...

  33. Re:Only proves which kids will *say* they've had s by merreborn · · Score: 5, Funny

    Simpler then that...
    Teenagers with low IQ normally are not left alone to do what they will. Because parents don't trust them to do the smart thing because they arn't, combined with the fact they get usually get extra adult help means less exposure with other kids, and the oposit sex feels guilty about sexual activity with that group, so combined that will make a lower rate.

    High IQ teens stop and think and realize that risks of Sex as a teenager (STD, Pregnacny) will get in away with their life plans being with higher IQ society expects more from them with their life plans so they stay away from such risks. Basicly I am not going to let a Baby get in my way to become a doctor. After I get my degree and a steady job then I may focus on having a family, Logical reasoning by people with higher IQ.

    Teens in the middle are not pressured to become a Doctor or whatever so they have less ambitions for life and figure it may be worth the risk. Combined with the fact they may not think things fully out and let biological pressures take over what people say they should do.


    Given the poor spelling, random capitalization, and generally dreadful grammar, I can draw only one conclusion: You must have gotten tons of action in high school.