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I thought this was very well done and hilarious. However, I'm not sure how I feel about the particular emphasis on mocking people who lift and take protein sup

by ocb 10y ago

I thought this was very well done and hilarious. However, I'm not sure how I feel about the particular emphasis on mocking people who lift and take protein supplements. It's definitely obnoxious when people define themselves by the fact that they lift, but at the same time, almost everyone I know who exhibits some the "alpha" behaviors described in this article w/r/t working out (like showing up to work in gym clothes) is not doing so in a deliberately show-offy way. They just like working out. If anything, in my experience people who do things like that tend to have serious confidence issues and being "swole" helps them with that. I know it's just a joke, just seems like a stereotype that's very erroneous to me. And for the record, I do not lift and probably never will. I've always been a more run/bike/swim type of person, although I should probably exercise more in general.

trose 10y ago
Stop ruining our fun! Seriously though, there seems to be some portion of the programming community that like to shit on people for enjoying exercise and caring about how they look. Doesn't bother me a whole lot. I know I'll always get opportunities to beat those people in an interview if I am just better dressed and more sociable.
- askafriend 10y ago
  I don't understand what's so bad about being healthy and fit? You'll feel better all around and be sharper mentally too.
  - pc86 10y ago
    My armchair psychology says that the stereotypical programmer is physically small/weak, and may be unable to do much physical activity (I have asthma and definitely used it as a crutch in junior high and HS to get out of most any physical activity). On the flip side, the jocks in HS were often the cool ones. Think of the stereotypical football QB in any HS movie. Pretty much the exact opposite of the stereotypical nerd student, except maybe the QB isn't a total idiot. I was told in HS that once I was out of college and had a job, it wouldn't matter how strong or popular someone was, but that how smart they were would determine their standing in life. Both turned out to be pretty blatantly wrong, but if you're told that, and if you're counting on that to be the case, it could be a pretty threatening thing to see that the jock who goes to Gold's Gym at 5 AM, tailors his clothes and pays a lot of money for a haircut actually knows what he's doing when it comes to programming or some other intellectual task. Since college I've lost fat, put on muscle, started caring about how I look, and gotten married. The change in how I am treated by your stereotypical programmer is like night and day (for the worse), and the change in how I am treated by everyone else is just as severe (for the better).
Lukeas14 10y ago
As a developer who lifts, it's pretty obvious the author does as well and is only mocking us in jest as opposed to being critical or derogatory. The idea for the article probably came from the lifting community where asserting dominance in your gym is a popular joke/meme.
- ocb 10y ago
  Haha, the possibility of this occurred to me, interesting to have it confirmed. I guess I'm reflective of the hostile culture I was pointing out, lol
brianpgordon 10y ago
This kind of stereotyping is an inevitable result of the worlds of "weird nerds" and "cool nerds" colliding in the workplace. There were no cool nerds in high school. Instead of working out or partying, we played games or fiddled with computers in sullen, slightly embarrassed solitude or with a cadre of other misfit rejects. The idea of someone writing code after a morning of pumping iron is strange and threatening to someone who's been marginalized or just excluded by the cool kids all of their life. I like this article: https://medium.com/@maradydd/when-nerds-collide-31895b01e68c#.4siaw43pe https://medium.com/@maradydd/when-nerds-collide-31895b01e68c... > the process of unlearning lessons ingrained from childhood takes a lot more than a cap and gown or even a $10 million VC check Shedding these prejudices is just part of growing up, and a lot of engineers are awfully young. And if you have an eighty gallon drum of protein by your desk, it's probably worth reading pg's essay on high school to get some insight into where the hostility is coming from: http://www.paulgraham.com/nerds.html http://www.paulgraham.com/nerds.html
- pc86 10y ago
  > There were no cool nerds in high school. Instead of working out or partying, we played games or fiddled with computers in sullen, slightly embarrassed solitude or with a cadre of other misfit rejects. The perfect example of taking your own anecdotal experience and assuming that it must be true for everyone. This was not at all my experience (even though I didn't work out in HS or party like in college), and I'm sure many people here did not have this experience either.
  - brianpgordon 10y ago
    I'm sure you're right, but from what I gather from reading and from consuming media my post still reflects the reality of secondary school in most of America.
sridca 10y ago
> in my experience people who do things like that tend to have serious confidence issues It has been noted that prisoners tend to suffer from low-esteem. Also, "it is really the weak who commit the crimes, not the strong." - http://fittish.deadspin.com/an-ex-cons-guide-to-prison-weightlifting-1571930353 http://fittish.deadspin.com/an-ex-cons-guide-to-prison-weigh... Humility is overrated.
dredmorbius 10y ago
Wheymen! https://reddit.com/r/swoleacceptance https://reddit.com/r/swoleacceptance The pain is real.

by ocb 10y ago

trose 10y ago

Stop ruining our fun! Seriously though, there seems to be some portion of the programming community that like to shit on people for enjoying exercise and caring about how they look. Doesn't bother me a whole lot. I know I'll always get opportunities to beat those people in an interview if I am just better dressed and more sociable.

askafriend 10y ago
I don't understand what's so bad about being healthy and fit? You'll feel better all around and be sharper mentally too.
- pc86 10y ago
  My armchair psychology says that the stereotypical programmer is physically small/weak, and may be unable to do much physical activity (I have asthma and definitely used it as a crutch in junior high and HS to get out of most any physical activity). On the flip side, the jocks in HS were often the cool ones. Think of the stereotypical football QB in any HS movie. Pretty much the exact opposite of the stereotypical nerd student, except maybe the QB isn't a total idiot. I was told in HS that once I was out of college and had a job, it wouldn't matter how strong or popular someone was, but that how smart they were would determine their standing in life. Both turned out to be pretty blatantly wrong, but if you're told that, and if you're counting on that to be the case, it could be a pretty threatening thing to see that the jock who goes to Gold's Gym at 5 AM, tailors his clothes and pays a lot of money for a haircut actually knows what he's doing when it comes to programming or some other intellectual task. Since college I've lost fat, put on muscle, started caring about how I look, and gotten married. The change in how I am treated by your stereotypical programmer is like night and day (for the worse), and the change in how I am treated by everyone else is just as severe (for the better).

Lukeas14 10y ago

As a developer who lifts, it's pretty obvious the author does as well and is only mocking us in jest as opposed to being critical or derogatory. The idea for the article probably came from the lifting community where asserting dominance in your gym is a popular joke/meme.

ocb 10y ago
Haha, the possibility of this occurred to me, interesting to have it confirmed. I guess I'm reflective of the hostile culture I was pointing out, lol

brianpgordon 10y ago

This kind of stereotyping is an inevitable result of the worlds of "weird nerds" and "cool nerds" colliding in the workplace. There were no cool nerds in high school. Instead of working out or partying, we played games or fiddled with computers in sullen, slightly embarrassed solitude or with a cadre of other misfit rejects. The idea of someone writing code after a morning of pumping iron is strange and threatening to someone who's been marginalized or just excluded by the cool kids all of their life. I like this article: https://medium.com/@maradydd/when-nerds-collide-31895b01e68c#.4siaw43pe https://medium.com/@maradydd/when-nerds-collide-31895b01e68c... > the process of unlearning lessons ingrained from childhood takes a lot more than a cap and gown or even a $10 million VC check Shedding these prejudices is just part of growing up, and a lot of engineers are awfully young. And if you have an eighty gallon drum of protein by your desk, it's probably worth reading pg's essay on high school to get some insight into where the hostility is coming from: http://www.paulgraham.com/nerds.html http://www.paulgraham.com/nerds.html

pc86 10y ago
> There were no cool nerds in high school. Instead of working out or partying, we played games or fiddled with computers in sullen, slightly embarrassed solitude or with a cadre of other misfit rejects. The perfect example of taking your own anecdotal experience and assuming that it must be true for everyone. This was not at all my experience (even though I didn't work out in HS or party like in college), and I'm sure many people here did not have this experience either.
- brianpgordon 10y ago
  I'm sure you're right, but from what I gather from reading and from consuming media my post still reflects the reality of secondary school in most of America.

sridca 10y ago

> in my experience people who do things like that tend to have serious confidence issues It has been noted that prisoners tend to suffer from low-esteem. Also, "it is really the weak who commit the crimes, not the strong." - http://fittish.deadspin.com/an-ex-cons-guide-to-prison-weightlifting-1571930353 http://fittish.deadspin.com/an-ex-cons-guide-to-prison-weigh... Humility is overrated.

dredmorbius 10y ago

Wheymen! https://reddit.com/r/swoleacceptance https://reddit.com/r/swoleacceptance The pain is real.