Are you really a sapiophile?

“…oh yea, he’s smart…I love smart people because I’m a sapiophile…” o wrong na.

I have heard this a lot of times from a lot of persons, it almost feels like people are awed by the thought of being identified as a sapiophile or sapiosexual or just claiming to be one makes one intelligent.

First of all, a little advice; take an IQ test.

Again, you need to know its a sexuality not just a defining term. Basically, there’s more to the term than a lot of acclaimed sapiophiles know. The mere fact that you like smart people or are intrigued by their intelligence doesn’t make you a sapiophile. More so, it takes two to tango, before being attracted to an intelligent person, you must be one yourself.

Back to the intricacies of the term, the word sapiophile is a coinage of the Latin word sapient meaning ‘wise’ and the Greek word phile meaning ‘lover of’.

I have wondered if there was a difference between sapiophile and sapiosexual and there are different opinions on that largely because they are considered new words coined in the 21st century.

Many posit that they mean the same thing. In this light, a sapiosexual or sapiophile is a person who bases his physically (sexual) and emotional (romantic) attraction on the intelligence of another. In simpler terms, they find intelligence more attractive than looks or personality (does that define you?, be sincere).

According to Dr Gilles Gignac who carried out a study on sapiosexuality, a sapiosexual is an individual who finds high level of intelligence (IQ) the most sexually attractive characteristic of a person.

I saw this comment from one on a website;

…I have a pathologically high IQ, its fun in some ways but socially, its a huge pain in the ass. I cannot sustain a relationship with anyone who who is not highly intelligent and they’re a very small percentage of the population, as a result of this I have been chronically lonely all my life, I cannot remember not being socially alone or lonely, I’ve spent much of my life trying to play dumb but it doesn’t work. Being a little smarter than average is a gift, being a lot smarter than average is a curse

chai…now can you relate to this?

They don’t get attracted easily, you have to be highly intelligent.

For others, the difference is that while the sapiosexual can create effective bonds with that intelligent person, for a sapiophile, this embodies the satisfaction of his sexual drive and doesn’t depend on emotional ties.

So lets consider their characteristics.

Characteristics of a sapiohile/sapiosexual

• They love owning their libraries (and its not storybooks, they are intellectuals) be sincere, how many books outside your academic textbooks do you own, lol.

• They enjoy long, intellectual, eye-opening conversations
• They love debating
• They find intelligence the most appealing trait of a person
• They hate spelling mistakes, it literally irritates them
• They love curiosity and inquisitiveness

• They don’t just like smart people, its what gets them sexually or romantically attracted

• They are very open-minded
• They think and live outside the box
• Because of their high IQ, they usually have photographic memory
• They love education (some people don’t even want to resume, lol)

If these characteristics don’t define you, you are not a sapiophile. Like me, you just love smart people, so don’t misuse terms. If they do, then your are. I hope you learnt one or two.

As always, the conversation continues in the comment section. Tell me what you think, have you encountered people who misuse the term?. Remember to like, share and sign up for more. Ciao!