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>romantic interest Heh, I don't know about other STEM fields but I remember a lady attending a computer science freshman social event once. There were very few

>romantic interest Heh, I don't know about other STEM fields but I remember a lady attending a computer science freshman social event once. There were very few women there as the majority of women in CS are in HTI. After a while she said to my friend, "Why is everyone such a nerd." She left the field, men were at fault.

ikeyany 9y ago
I'm not sure she's blaming men as much as she's confirming the existence of the culture around tech that non-traditional students (women or blacks/Latinos) feel very alienated from. That doesn't mean she thinks anyone is "to blame".
- eli_gottlieb 9y ago
  I don't think we should downvote here. As much as none of us nerds like nerd-punching, we should admit that nerd culture is a distinct thing unto itself, which co-clusters with other demographic factors (especially being middle-class with time for hobbies when you're young), and frankly isn't very welcoming in the adult stages of acculturation. If we expect people to "enter into" nerd culture to join "nerdy" professions, we're basically expecting people to learn a new language and move into a semi-foreign country just to enter a job field.
  - peoplewindow 9y ago
    "Nerd" isn't a culture anymore than "geekyness" is a culture. It's a pejorative, an insult intended to shame the person it's applied to by suggesting they are slightly disgusting, socially disagreeable, ugly, uninteresting etc. When the woman turned up to a social event and said, "why are the men such nerds" and walked away, that wasn't the men's fault or problem actually (unless they wanted to date her). That's her problem: she's the one lobbing insults against an entire group despite not knowing the individuals in question. They do not need to do anything to welcome such a person into their "culture" because she wasn't talking about a culture to begin with. The story given above, assuming the last "men were at fault" statement is related to the first part, is sadly reflective of all the worst stereotypes of young women. The woman in question decided what career to pursue because she didn't want to be seen as hanging out with uncool people during her studies. Guess what - nerds would be happy to hang out with "non nerds" too, if they came to their events and didn't act all judgey and superior. This is not something unique to women, it's rather, that men seem more willing to either embrace it or tolerate it. Presumably she is now in a field with fewer "nerds", but quite possibly earning less money than if she'd stuck with CS. Too bad for her.
  - gaius 9y ago
    If we expect people to "enter into" nerd culture to join "nerdy" professions You don’t think other professions have cultures? Good luck with facial piercings and purple hair in Corporate Law, but in software no one would bat an eyelid. The culture you are complaining about is MORE tolerant than nearly all other professions!

ikeyany 9y ago

I'm not sure she's blaming men as much as she's confirming the existence of the culture around tech that non-traditional students (women or blacks/Latinos) feel very alienated from. That doesn't mean she thinks anyone is "to blame".

eli_gottlieb 9y ago
I don't think we should downvote here. As much as none of us nerds like nerd-punching, we should admit that nerd culture is a distinct thing unto itself, which co-clusters with other demographic factors (especially being middle-class with time for hobbies when you're young), and frankly isn't very welcoming in the adult stages of acculturation. If we expect people to "enter into" nerd culture to join "nerdy" professions, we're basically expecting people to learn a new language and move into a semi-foreign country just to enter a job field.
- peoplewindow 9y ago
  "Nerd" isn't a culture anymore than "geekyness" is a culture. It's a pejorative, an insult intended to shame the person it's applied to by suggesting they are slightly disgusting, socially disagreeable, ugly, uninteresting etc. When the woman turned up to a social event and said, "why are the men such nerds" and walked away, that wasn't the men's fault or problem actually (unless they wanted to date her). That's her problem: she's the one lobbing insults against an entire group despite not knowing the individuals in question. They do not need to do anything to welcome such a person into their "culture" because she wasn't talking about a culture to begin with. The story given above, assuming the last "men were at fault" statement is related to the first part, is sadly reflective of all the worst stereotypes of young women. The woman in question decided what career to pursue because she didn't want to be seen as hanging out with uncool people during her studies. Guess what - nerds would be happy to hang out with "non nerds" too, if they came to their events and didn't act all judgey and superior. This is not something unique to women, it's rather, that men seem more willing to either embrace it or tolerate it. Presumably she is now in a field with fewer "nerds", but quite possibly earning less money than if she'd stuck with CS. Too bad for her.
- gaius 9y ago
  If we expect people to "enter into" nerd culture to join "nerdy" professions You don’t think other professions have cultures? Good luck with facial piercings and purple hair in Corporate Law, but in software no one would bat an eyelid. The culture you are complaining about is MORE tolerant than nearly all other professions!