Which is more important?

A sharp mind or a gorgeous face?

This is a question that was recently asked of me, and here is my final answer: a sharp mind is definitely more important, and in the long run more attractive, than a pretty face. However, a totally hideous visage is an automatic deal breaker no matter how brilliant the mind.

Here's where I'm going with this: while it's true that the first thing that might attract me is a certain physical type, and while I do frequently ogle beautiful men, if the elevator don't quite make it to the observation deck I will quickly lose all interest. A man has to be able to keep me hooked with ideas, stories and conversation. Animal magnetism only goes so far.

Example: I once lusted after this mega-hot guy for months, and he finally asked me out. He took me to a really stupid, pointless movie, and then spent the rest of the date talking about how super cool the crapass movie was. There did not seem to be anything even mildly interesting going through his mind at any given point. It was like that SNL skit with Chris Farley, where he would interview celebrities about their movies and say stuff like, "Remember in Die Hard 3, when you jumped out of that building right before it exploded? ......... That was awesome." When the hot guy asked if I'd like to go out with him again, I said hell no. He bored me silly.

Now, on the other hand, I also could never be romantically involved with a gargoyle. Remember, I am somewhat shallow. I need to be able to look at a man. Even if he has the most brilliant, entertaining mind on the planet, if I find him absolutely physically repulsive I will totally lose interest. I do have a "type" toward which I gravitate, and many people seem surprised to find that my "real life type" is nearly the complete opposite of my "fantasy type." And no, I'm not going to tell you what makes up either type. You figure it out.

Example of my shallow need to maintain physical attraction to someone: Once I was getting set up on a blind date by a friend. I talked on the phone to the blind date for about a month before I finally met him. On the phone he was extremely attractive... smart, funny, sensitive. I liked him. Then he came to pick me up on the night of the Big Date. My God, he looked like one of those shrunken apple-head dolls. Really bald, really wrinkly, really tiny (shorter than me), with teeth that resembled Indian corn. And he was only 32 years old. I knew immediately that I could never see him again.

I suppose it's all a delicate balancing act then, isn't it? A smart, funny guy that has that definite, subjective element of physical attractiveness. Who says you can't have your cake and eat it too?