3 ms·

i started school in the balkans and came to australia midway through. one of the key things that struck me was the divide between "nerds" and "cool" kids. this

i started school in the balkans and came to australia midway through. one of the key things that struck me was the divide between "nerds" and "cool" kids. this divide simply didnt exist where i was from and usually the cool kids were ones that excelled in everything. actually physical fitness is (was?) a huge and very strict part of the school curriculum, starting from primary school. this might however be a remnant of socialism. sport periods in australian schools on the other hand were a joke (bludge subject). moreover i felt that in the balkans kids that performed poorly (in all/any subjects) were generally more prone to get picked on by other kids edit: however i have to say that i dont think that this is an east/west thing, but possibly an anglosphere issue. in germany i have the feeling that kids have a qualitatively healthier and more rounded relationship to schooling (and eachother) than in australia

AussieWog93 5y ago
Not denying what you're saying at all about the nerd/jock thing being a weird artifact of the West, but that's not the point of the article. It was talking about the fact that all different kinds of "games" exist and nobody is playing all of them. Some people are playing the "bang as many chicks as you can" game, others are playing the "be faithful to one woman" game, and some aren't playing either of those games at all. Sure, that particular jock/nerd game might not exist across cultures, but other games do.
- medo-bear 5y ago
  sure. the article is good. i just had in mind the grandparents interpretation visavis cultural differences. i found it interesting since on my first reading i imagined brad as a typical childhood as described to me as personal experiences of my asian (incl indian) friends and i found it interesting that they have an opposite interpretation whith which my experiences also align somewhat some people play the maths game, some people play the school game, some people play the philosophy game, etc. its an interesting simple take on life. what is an interesting problem to me is how to optimise for the games we choose to play while taking into account societal pressures to specialize in one game
  - AussieWog93 5y ago
    And I was playing the "argue with strangers on the internet" game. Can you please post something that's easy to disagree with, so that I can tell you're wrong and feel better about myself?
    - medo-bear 5y ago
      sure ... i reckon the best topping on a capricciosa pizza is (tommy) mayo :)
      - AussieWog93 5y ago
        Right in the capricciosas, man. How did you know I liked anchovies? :P

AussieWog93 5y ago

Not denying what you're saying at all about the nerd/jock thing being a weird artifact of the West, but that's not the point of the article. It was talking about the fact that all different kinds of "games" exist and nobody is playing all of them. Some people are playing the "bang as many chicks as you can" game, others are playing the "be faithful to one woman" game, and some aren't playing either of those games at all. Sure, that particular jock/nerd game might not exist across cultures, but other games do.

medo-bear 5y ago
sure. the article is good. i just had in mind the grandparents interpretation visavis cultural differences. i found it interesting since on my first reading i imagined brad as a typical childhood as described to me as personal experiences of my asian (incl indian) friends and i found it interesting that they have an opposite interpretation whith which my experiences also align somewhat some people play the maths game, some people play the school game, some people play the philosophy game, etc. its an interesting simple take on life. what is an interesting problem to me is how to optimise for the games we choose to play while taking into account societal pressures to specialize in one game
- AussieWog93 5y ago
  And I was playing the "argue with strangers on the internet" game. Can you please post something that's easy to disagree with, so that I can tell you're wrong and feel better about myself?
  - medo-bear 5y ago
    sure ... i reckon the best topping on a capricciosa pizza is (tommy) mayo :)
    - AussieWog93 5y ago
      Right in the capricciosas, man. How did you know I liked anchovies? :P