Update: Men **82% **yes and women 50% yes.
I’m interested in the inference(s) you are drawing from this result.
I follow a general rule that if someone asks me on a date I will go unless I have a reason not to. So if it’s a guy, I know I’m not into that and would say no, and if it’s someone I don’t like, have concerns about, or the situation would be too tricky I decline. In the absence of something like that then I’d say yes. I’m not sure whether I’d actually be interested in an ‘average’ personality, whatever that is, but I’d certainly be willing to go to dinner and find out - I think talking to someone who was completely ordinary would be an interesting change of pace. OTOH, the ‘average’ part might disqualify me from her pool, since even if I was single like the hypothetical I’m only interested in poly relationships, and the ‘average’ person wants monogamy or the appearance of it.
There has to be something special about a woman for me to accept a date - some spark, some wit, something above the “average”.
Though as with others, the point is moot for me, as I’ve been married for twenty years. 
Saying that women are ‘pickier’ would be an oversimplified answer. But many of the women who answered this thread seem to think, ‘My default answer is no unless there’s a good reason to say yes’ and many of the men seem to think, ‘My default answer is yes unless there’s a good reason to say no.’
Why do you think men and women have such different responses?
Here are some possible explanations:
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Women are simply snobbier and more close-minded than men. Men are more welcoming and embracing of all physical, personality, and socioeconomic types. But women just want someone who’s rich and handsome.
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Men are horndogs. They’ll fuck anything with a wet hole.
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On average, women are less likely to have dating on their minds. A woman goes to a coffee shop because she wants some coffee, not to pick up random guys. Thus, saying “no” is easy for her.
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Women and men differ in what they want to get out of a date. Women are more likely to be interviewing potential boyfriends. Men are more likely to be looking for a good time.
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A woman takes a bigger risk than a man does when she says “yes”. Especially if the date involves some panties hitting the floor.
I would accept the date and try to have fun. However I would never ask out an “average” woman. Attractive and average would seem to be mutually exclusive and I’d much prefer to spend my time pursuing someone who attracts me. Now just because nobody else views them as attractive is immaterial.
Or.
- Women have more experience being asked out, so it’s not a special big deal to them. Whereas men may see it as unusual enough that they feel intrigued by the gesture alone, even if they aren’t particularly drawn to the person doing the asking.
Yeah, it’s pretty deeply imbedded in the culture - even to this day - that men do more of the asking, are more expected to ‘make the first move’.
Though when I come to think of it - my wife more or less asked me out first, when we started going out. But that’s a long and involved story …
Dude here, no. It wouldn’t go anywhere.
- …this is an Absolute Impossibility…! Now, Dammit Skald, where is my Peach Cobbler Recipe!?
Seems to me this would be a winning approach for a woman confident enough to do it. Although the novelty might wear off if enough women do it.
Only if the men she’s approaching actually like to be asked out by women. Some men are turned off by it, so I’ve been told.
It’s one thing to entertain this hypothetically; it’s another to test it out in real life. Even among those men who would say yes to a date request from an average woman, I wouldn’t be surprised if their initial interest quickly turned to disinterest once the novelty of the experience wore off.
I’m torn. Unless they give me a seriously bad vibe or are obviously an asshole, I’d probably give anybody a shot because sometimes you have to get to know people to grasp how truly awesome they are.
On the other hand, someone of average intelligence might be a deal-breaker. It’s unlikely I would connect with someone who is not as geeky as I am.
On the other other hand, IQ =/= intelligence.
The assumption of singleness was not in the OP, and that was what I replied to. So I wasn’t fighting try he hypo…
Isn’t the definition of intelligence “whatever it is that IQ tests measure”?
Nope. IQ tests purport to measure intelligence, but I doubt they truly do.
IQ tests aren’t perfect, but I’m pretty sure that smart people score high, average people score average and unintelligent people score poorly.
Maybe someone who tests well and has a good day can score 10 points higher than warranted or someone who is smart but has issues such as dyslexia or simply has a bad day scores 10 or maybe 15 points lower, but more than that? I don’t think so.
Of course many tests, like SAT, don’t test innate intelligence, which can’t be trained, but things like vocabulary, which can be trained.
Okay, maybe a better way of putting it is, I don’t give a shit about IQ, i know enough about how IQ tests work not to trust them as they tend to be culturally biased. There are multiple ways to be intelligent. And I’ve met people with lower IQs than mine who make me feel like an idiot. Having an IQ of 100 doesn’t preclude someone from being an interesting, engaging conversation partner and it certainly doesn’t mean I can’t learn anything from them. And engaging conversation where you learn stuff is the most important thing in a partner outside of compassion.
I should start asking people their IQ test scores to see whether this is true.