Niche Dating Site Forces People to Pass IQ Test Before Hook'n Up

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If you’re very smart and very single, a new specialized dating site could be your saviour. IntelligentPeople.com caters to smart singles who want to find a partner who values brains over beauty. An interview with founder Trine Jensen reveals what gives this smarty-pants website its legs.

Digital Journal — Do you prefer reading Sartre over Danielle Steel? Do conversations about television and sports bore you to tears? Do you enjoy long walks along philosophy’s theoretical pathways? Then you might be the ideal candidate to try out IntelligentPeople.com, a new dating website catering to smart singles only. The site is so exclusive you have to pass an IQ test to even join.

IntelligentPeople.com is intended for people with an IQ approximately in the top 15 per cent of the population, joining the ranks of other specialized dating sites targeting smarties — BeeMyGeek.com and Gk2Gk.com stress brains over profile brawn. Unlike those geeky stalwarts, the Denmark-based IntelligentPeople.com wants to focus less on nerdy matchmaking and more on frustrated adults hoping to find someone at their Mensa level.

The IQ test is the biggest game-changer for the site, for better or worse. It’s a difficult test asking 18 questions pertaining to patterns and shapes. Supposedly, this test is “culture fair” so various ethnicities can approach the test equally, no language skills required.

After two Digital Journal staffers (myself and colleague Chris Hogg) took the test and failed, we wondered if the IQ test would block users interested in joining the site. We spoke to another individual who took the IntelligentPeople.com test, and she admitted she failed this test, despite having passed a Mensa test. It’s too early to say if the site’s IQ test is flawed, but it's obvious elitism is the name of the game for specialized dating sites like this one. Both Hogg and I consider ourselves to be relatively intelligent people, but clearly we had issues with determining the circle-square-dot-squiggly-line sequence.

Vote it up! Failure on IQ Test Screenshot by DigitalJournal.com (Creative Commons - Attribution) IntelligentPeople.com is a dating website that forces members to pass an IQ test before using the site. When DigitalJournal.com tested the site, our editors failed miserably.

That intelligence firewall isn’t hurting the numbers yet: Within 24 hours of the U.S. site’s launch, it attracted 167 members. The Danish site has been up for three weeks and has close to 1,300 members.

To find out more about IntelligentPeople.com, and what motivates brainiacs to find a meeting spot of their own, Digital Journal interviewed Trine Jensen, the founder of the site.

DigitalJournal.com: What inspired you to start IntelligentPeople.com? Something from your own experience?

Trine Jensen: I found that general dating sites were getting too big, and it was difficult to find the people that I was interested in on those sites. I felt that it was desirable to sort by some kind of criterion. Since intelligence for me is an important characteristic in my future partner, I thought it would be interesting to use an intelligence test to sort by.

You can also use the site for social networking if you are not looking for dating, but would merely like to meet other people with high IQ’s. I found that if you have a high IQ, but not high enough to join Mensa, there really wasn't anywhere else to go — until now.

DigitalJournal.com: What kind of interface does the site sport? Is there less of an emphasis on flashy graphics and more of a stress on substance, considering you want to cater to intelligent people?

Jensen: The user interface so far is pretty basic, because the most important thing is the opportunity to meet likeminded people. We have a debate forum which I think is an important feature at the site, and an instant messenger function. I expect to add a blog feature soon as well. I would like the user interface to become more advanced in the future, but so far all the money for the site is currently coming out of my own pocket.

Vote it up! A Dating Site for Intelligent People Photo courtesy Trine Jensen (All Rights Reserved) IntelligentPeople.com is a dating site that makes you pass an IQ test before you can start using the site.

DigitalJournal.com: I tried the I.Q. test and failed. But I consider myself intelligent, but not based on a Mensa test. Do you think the I.Q. test is too hard or misleading?

Jensen: Sorry to hear that you failed. Based on the statistics from the Danish version of the site that has been up and running for 3 weeks now, I don't think the test is too hard.

Approximately 20 per cent of the people who have taken the test, have passed it. I'm aiming for the top 15 per cent of the population, and since people with high IQ’s are more likely to take the test than people with low IQ’s, I believe it’s close to what I was aiming for. But the test will be evaluated and adjusted on a continuing basis.

I agree that this kind of test is not the only way to measure intelligence — it also depends on how you define intelligence. But I found that a test consisting only of images was the most culture fair way of testing intelligence. Tests that test mathmatical or verbal skills give people who haven’t gone to school for a lot of years a disadvantage. I wanted to avoid that.

DigitalJournal.com: There are many niche dating sites out there, including some for "nerds" or science-fiction fanatics. Do you think there's a viable future for specialized dating sites as opposed to general ones (i.e. Lavalife)?

Jensen: I think there is a future for niche dating sites. They can never get as big as the general ones, but I think that’s an advantage. If it is important to you that your future partner posses a specific quality or are interested in a particular hobby, niche dating sites are a good way to “sort out the noise.”

DigitalJournal.com: Intelligence isn't always a sign of a good date. In fact, many men claim they are intimidated by a woman who is more intelligent than them. What do you say to that criticism?

Jensen: I have experienced that myself, and I hear from a lot of women that men can be intimidated by a woman who's more intelligent. I say that my site is a way for women to meet men who are equally or more intelligent than themselves, and who will not be intimidated by their intelligence. And after all, the men who are on the site must be interested in meeting intelligent women or they wouldn't be there in the first place.

DigitalJournal.com: What do you hope IntelligentPeople.com will become in the coming year?

Jensen: In the coming year, I hope that the site will continue to grow, and that the IQ test and the site in general will continue being improved. And I hope a lot of people will meet new friends and potential life partners.