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The idea that there needs to be a dichotomy between "nerds" and "jocks" is foolish anyway. Just because you're in physical shape doesn't automatically make you

The idea that there needs to be a dichotomy between "nerds" and "jocks" is foolish anyway. Just because you're in physical shape doesn't automatically make you stupid, and just because you're intelligent doesn't mean you have to be out of shape or physically weak. I won't hold myself up as any kind of Adonis, but on a philosophical/idealistic level, what ever happened to the Classical ideal of mens sana in corpore sano? Also, having served in the military and worked in the private sector, a well-functioning team will beat the brakes off a lone wolf any day and twice on Sundays. And oftentimes athletics fosters a level of sociability on that front which serves people well in other walks of life. And I say that as someone who in high school was a stereotypical "nerd" who hadn't learned that lesson yet.

yieldcrv 3y ago
the stereotypes come from the shared experience and recurring physiological expression
- gmadsen 3y ago
  maybe its geographical? At my highschool the vast majority of those playing sports went to college, while the "weird" kids typically dropped out or worked random jobs after college for the entirety of their 20s
jltsiren 3y ago
When I grew up, "nerd" effectively meant "weird loser". The dictonomy was not between the athletic and the intelligent but between the popular and the unpopular. The bullies and the bullied. The normal and the abnormal. Those with common interests and those with weird ones. Popular kids seemed more athletic, because it was socially acceptable to be interested in sports. Unpopular kids seemed more intelligent, because taking your studies seriously was often socially unacceptable.
- red-iron-pine 3y ago
  "incel" is probably the more relevant term in 2023. isolated, awkward, with 'weird' interests (e.g. 4chan, H-games, trolling). less of a pure "loser" implication than 1980s nerd. more of a "loser, but also creepy, and an outside chance of them shooting up the place"
  - psunavy03 3y ago
    And that term is still problematic. Just because a straight man has a lousy love life doesn't automatically make him a misogynist or a potential spree killer. If anything, that feeds into those freaks' arguments that men are entitled to sex or affection. Yes, I'm familiar with the existence of the weirdo subculture that coined the term. But there's a lot of technically "involuntarily celibate" straight men in the world who are just between relationships, haven't met Ms. Right yet and don't want to cat around, or aren't regularly getting laid for any number of other reasons, but who just do what normal people do and deal with it. Using the term "incel" to describe the weirdo losers who feel entitled to women's attentions and affections without any effort on their part is arguably legitimizing their creepy argument.
hellotheretoday 3y ago
The two most intelligent people I know are very physically fit. One went to Harvard medical school, the other cal tech. Both have extremely enviable careers with extensive publication history, great resumes, etc. One is a runner and by my understanding has great times/stamina. The other is straight jacked. I think it’s reflective of their work ethic. They’re arguably gifted with intelligence to some degree but that needed effort to flourish. Also Thucydides said “The society that separates its scholars from its warriors will have its thinking done by cowards and its fighting by fools.”
matt004 3y ago
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yieldcrv 3y ago

the stereotypes come from the shared experience and recurring physiological expression

gmadsen 3y ago
maybe its geographical? At my highschool the vast majority of those playing sports went to college, while the "weird" kids typically dropped out or worked random jobs after college for the entirety of their 20s

jltsiren 3y ago

When I grew up, "nerd" effectively meant "weird loser". The dictonomy was not between the athletic and the intelligent but between the popular and the unpopular. The bullies and the bullied. The normal and the abnormal. Those with common interests and those with weird ones. Popular kids seemed more athletic, because it was socially acceptable to be interested in sports. Unpopular kids seemed more intelligent, because taking your studies seriously was often socially unacceptable.

red-iron-pine 3y ago
"incel" is probably the more relevant term in 2023. isolated, awkward, with 'weird' interests (e.g. 4chan, H-games, trolling). less of a pure "loser" implication than 1980s nerd. more of a "loser, but also creepy, and an outside chance of them shooting up the place"
- psunavy03 3y ago
  And that term is still problematic. Just because a straight man has a lousy love life doesn't automatically make him a misogynist or a potential spree killer. If anything, that feeds into those freaks' arguments that men are entitled to sex or affection. Yes, I'm familiar with the existence of the weirdo subculture that coined the term. But there's a lot of technically "involuntarily celibate" straight men in the world who are just between relationships, haven't met Ms. Right yet and don't want to cat around, or aren't regularly getting laid for any number of other reasons, but who just do what normal people do and deal with it. Using the term "incel" to describe the weirdo losers who feel entitled to women's attentions and affections without any effort on their part is arguably legitimizing their creepy argument.

hellotheretoday 3y ago

The two most intelligent people I know are very physically fit. One went to Harvard medical school, the other cal tech. Both have extremely enviable careers with extensive publication history, great resumes, etc. One is a runner and by my understanding has great times/stamina. The other is straight jacked. I think it’s reflective of their work ethic. They’re arguably gifted with intelligence to some degree but that needed effort to flourish. Also Thucydides said “The society that separates its scholars from its warriors will have its thinking done by cowards and its fighting by fools.”

matt004 3y ago

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