Why Nerds are Unpopular

[Guynemer]

NERDS!

[Imran Siddiqui]

What do you do on thursday nights, Imran?

I go to a bar and play trivia while getting drunk

As it happens to be a social activity at a bar, calling it nerdy is a bit of a stretch.

[Japher]

The trivia part is nerdy. Obviously an attempt to avoid speaking with anyone.

[-Jrabbit]

This is one of the worst arguments ever to reach over 150 posts on Poly.

But looking ast the other available threads, I guess I understand.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Well, you know, except for the members of the team (who are regulars at the pub), and the bartenders

[The Emperor Fabulous]

Trivia nights are specifically designed to draw in the nerd crowd.

[Imran Siddiqui]

It's mostly designed to get traffic on a weeknight, which otherwise might be slow.

And, to be honest, its more for geeks.

[Ben Kenobi]

What PG is attempting to do is the former, but you seem to be seeing it as the latter. He is criticising the effects that the current system has on the development of any refinement in intellect, personal morality (Lewis' 'The Inner Ring' and 'The Abolition of Man' are excellent reads in this context), the aesthetic sense, and the sense of social cohesion so necessary for healthy living. These are not political criticisms, though they criticise the outcomes of decisions or actions arrived at through political processes.

I tend to take a broad interpretation of 'political' to encompass philosophic concepts (especially normative ones), that influence our opinions as to how the world ought to be. I realise many people interpret it narrowly to apply to political parties only.

[Pekka]

Here's my 2 cents.

When I was in school, being called a nerd was an offensive thing to be called, it would label you as someone with the plague. And once you got labeled as a nerd, that was bad. And people who got labeled as nerds were, well, what you'd call a nerd today, except some of them weren't the stereotypical ones with the eye glasses and stuff. It took much less. You only had to be able to use a computer or read a book just for fun, or talk about science, you'd be instant-nerd, and not to be associated with, and to be laughed at.

I wasn't a nerd per se. I was one of they "hockey players". But I hung out with "nerds" because I was fascinated with computers. It was in fact them who accepted me. I was the uncertain one, seeking for their approval, and they did so quite easily. To me, it was more jealous of people who were better at programming, who knew more BBSs with 'warez' than I did, who were able to do some real hacking, that is, to fix their own hardware and stuff like that. I can't remember exactly when I became more interested in porn than ASCII, but the point is, being a nerd in the 80s and 90s was worse than being one now, in fact today it might be seen as sexy. It definitely is more socially acceptable. Some girls equal nerd with money, and thus it's a good thing and somehow in that fuzzy concept nerds become sexy in the physical realm as well. I don't know how that works, but then again I don't do shopping every week, nor am I interested in it.

Time jump into today's times. When couple of months ago I was in the hospital, getting better from my brain surgery, I was reading books. I was happening to read Neal Stephenson's book, which are quite long, the new ones. Like 1000 pages or so. It was not only one, but three or four nurses who were like "that's a long book, how can you read a book that is so long?". A real wtf moment. I get it, I wouldn't want to read 1000 pages unless I was interested in the yarn either. And seriously, you tell me there's no good yarns to be read? The second realization made by nurses was that "oh and it's in english too!", and genuine horror faces, as if I was the weird one. Let alone how their faces bent when I told them what the books were about.

I remember being in hospital bed as one of the nurses came to talk to me, just keeping me company, asking some questions, making a conversation. She said what do I do for a living, I said I'm a researcher, I do research on computer security. I didn't even get further than that and she cut me off, saying "oh that even sounds so boring!". I'm not even pointing out how rude that is, but... I mean wtf?

I'm not saying nurses are stupid because they aren't, at least not in general. But sometimes, in today's world, just reading a book that is thick will get you some looks. But I think it says more about them than about us. How do you go to a bar every weekend, that seems odd to me. YES, I WOULD rather read a book every now and then. It fills me inside. At least I'm not hollow, needing the fix to be approved by people I don't even know, by showing up at some crappy plastic place that calls itself club, just because. If I go, I go to hear some kick ass music and bust some moves, get a shot or 10. But I sure as hell don't go there to be seen. Seen by who? And after I'm seen, what happens next, as in for what am I seen for? Nah, rather read a a book. I'd rather read a book about reading a book.

[Asher]

I tend to take a broad interpretation of 'political' to encompass philosophic concepts (especially normative ones), that influence our opinions as to how the world ought to be. I realise many people interpret it narrowly to apply to political parties only.

You cannot read, you cannot comprehend. 99% of your posts demonstrate this. You invent arguments in your head and pretend to respond to them and attribute them to people who didn't say it.

[Ben Kenobi]

I seem to remember agathon saying that I was the only one who knew how to structure an argument.

[Bugs ****ing Bunny]

Your structure is fabulous. Regrettably, the content isn't.

[Asher]

I seem to remember agathon saying that I was the only one who knew how to structure an argument.

Agathon? The Philosophy PhD wanker that constantly was demolished in the most simple of debates? The guy who fled in fear of this site and its educated userbase so he could wallow in the hive-mind nature of Apple fanboards?

[-Jrabbit]

Talk about your inevitable posts...

[Ben Kenobi]

I expected Asher's comment.

Regrettably, the content isn't.

Well sure. We all don't have published works out.