Hey dude, I'm kind of in a similar boat as you. I was an academic, went to a world-class university, and I spent a huge amount of time and effort working, studying, learning, and progressing myself. While most people were out partying, I was solving problems, writing scientific papers, etc. I used to work so hard I went through a BIC pen about once a week. How many people do you know that have ever seen a BIC pen run out of ink?
Even most girls with degrees are pretty dumb. Leave alone the ones that work as waitresses.
I also had a great body from martial arts and weight lifting. After all of that, I go to clubs and see complete airheads. I specifically remember one night when I saw guys take their shirts off and seeing girls throw themselves at these guys, and I remember thinking "wow I have a much better physique than these guys but these girls aren't worth me taking my shirt off for."
But the way I see it, at the end of the day, nobody can tell you what sort of women you should chase. If you want to chase dumb girls with hot bodies, that's your choice. If you want to go after smart girls, that's your choice.
If you want to seduce a dumb girl that you feel is several orders of magnitude below you in intelligence (as I've encountered), just DHV by telling her some interesting things she doesn't know about. This is easy, because she knows nothing. Talk about relationships, animal mating, psychology, etc.
Don't ask her about her career/life goals, because she doesn't have any, or if she does they're too stupid for you to give praise to without having to put on a theatrical display. Don't talk to her about your achievements, because she can't understand or relate to that and it creates a gap between you.
Instead, talk about things that get you both excited. Maybe you both like the same movies? Maybe she has a hobby that you're both interested in. Find out what gets her excited. Ask her specifically, or ask her indirectly, by asking her to tell you when she was happiest in her life, when was the funnest moment in her life, etc. Once you get that out of her, you're already talking to her about something that gets her excited.
Tip: most girls, especially the dumb ones, will say they like Music, dancing, shopping, traveling. Follow up on these, e.g. ask them if they're any good at dancing. Have something to say about each of these.
Example:
Dancing: Did you know dancing helps cure anxiety, depression, sexual dysfunction.. and then you can try to steer the conversation toward the healing abilities of sex and the relation between sex & dancing (HINT: sex is also a antihistamine!)
Music: Oh by the way did you know the singer XYZ? (Tell a story about a singer you met.. I have a true story but feel free to substitute something else.)
Traveling: What's the best place you've been to? Have you been to XYZ? It's amazing, the best thing I've seen in the world... And follow up with something that you've seen in your travels.
Shopping: Tell a story about something that happened to you while you were shopping, or ask her what she likes to shop for, or ask her how many shoes she's bought in the last month.
Think of talking to a dumb girl like talking to a child. You can't try to talk about anything serious, so "what books have you read recently" is not something you would say. Just talk about fun/funny things. This is also why magic tricks work, because they have simple minds and are amazed by simple things.
They also believe in stupid shit like fairies, ghosts, and psychic readings, which is why stuff like palm reading works. But you can also just do cold reading, e.g. tell her you can tell by looking in her eyes that she's a very kind person but likes to stand up for herself at the right time. (Which is BS but every girl will say yes how did you know???)
Also, you can always find out where smart girls go.. and try to pick them up from there.