Ugh...I just have to speak my mind on this one. And please no one take my ranting personally...it is based on my own life experiences.
First off...my opinion is that there appears to be a shortage of eligible bachelors because too many of the chicks whining about it aren't very eligible themselves. In the interest of fairness, where is the article about the guys complaining about not being able to find an eligible chick who isn't unattractive, lazy or, worst of all, crazy? I mean get real, ladies. If you aren't willing to put in the effort to better yourself (mentally, physically AND emotionally) then why are you complaining? If you took out the opinions of the ineligible yet "entitled" women there might not appear to be a shortage after all...I surmise it would all even out. Only the chicks who actually have something going for them have something to complain about.
Secondly: nerds...man I could go on for days about nerds and their bitching. Holding a comp sci degree from UCI and often being the only woman around in my professional life as a software consultant means that I have a) had a lot of nerd friends, b) dated my fair share of nerds, and c) heard every variation possible on the "why don't chicks want us instead of the guys who treat them poorly" complaint. Okay, here's the deal: if you look like a nerd, the likelihood of you acting like a nerd is very high. It can be difficult for a woman to know if you are the rare nerd who *will* actually treat her well. And yes, if you really, truly are a nerd then the chances of you focusing your attentions on the wrong things at the wrong times are also very high. Male nerd habits are hard to break once they get a girl and "shy" or "smart" or "talented" doesn't also necessarily mean "nice". Sorry for the tough love...but it's true.
How will a woman know if you are the rare nerd who won't (and all of these are real examples) 1) spend all weekend, every weekend, searching the Internet and Fry's ads for "sweet deals" on electronics instead of leaving the house, 2) let her sit bored on his bed while he reads slashdot every day (or insert some other website here), 3) spend all day and night installing the latest card/chip/whatever in his computer, 4) still be playing Starcraft (or insert some other game here) at 4 am while she is alone in his bed, 5) spend every lunch break playing Nintendo DS, 6) forget about personal hygiene, grooming and general cleanliness of his personal space (it's horrible but it's true), 7) be afraid or lack skills to talk to her at all (I give points to the ones who can at least chat online), 8) be more interested in the Discovery Channel than in sex, and/or 9) generally show more interest in a machine than in a human being. I realize I look like a huge attention whore after that rant, but my annoyance is with the duration or frequency of the machine love and the unbreakable, rude habits, not the machine love in and of itself. The lack of cleanliness is an exception. There is no excuse for that. Eeewww.
My strong personal opinion is that nerds' perceived inability to attract a woman has way more to do with how they act than how they look.
/rant off