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I don't think the "weird nerd" who is obsessed with the truth ever existed. Is the lamentation that academics today are less objective, and presumably the tech

I don't think the "weird nerd" who is obsessed with the truth ever existed. Is the lamentation that academics today are less objective, and presumably the tech and finance workers would have been more objective? I don't think the tech and finance people would have been academics in the precise areas of research that are suffering from an objectivity/truth crisis. Certainly it's not computer engineering that everyone is lamenting about. As for the supposed objectivity of the "weird nerd", I don't know what to say. I have met more conspiracy theorists in my interactions with "weird nerds" than in my everyday interactions with normal people.

jvanderbot 3y ago
This is quite a thing to say. You honestly believe that truth obsessed niche learners don't exist?
- starkparker 3y ago
  I certainly don't think they were/are remotely as monolithic of a culture as depicted here, and the post's thesis hinges on it being so.
  - jvanderbot 3y ago
    I see. I disagree that collecting misfits makes for a monoculture, and that's how I read TFA. I assumed they were collecting lots of different kinds of people, not collecting from a monoculture of nerds like a overly specific subreddit or something.
Jensson 3y ago
> As for the supposed objectivity of the "weird nerd", I don't know what to say. I have met more conspiracy theorists in my interactions with "weird nerds" than in my everyday interactions with normal people. Conspiracy theorists are people who are obsessed with the "truth", so your observation supports the statement. Being a conspiracy theorist isn't self serving, the only reason to be one is that you care so much about the truth to ostracize yourself. When such people have a well calibrated mind we call them geniuses, but most people get things wrong here and there and then they become conspiracy theoriests since they chase stupid theories.

jvanderbot 3y ago

This is quite a thing to say. You honestly believe that truth obsessed niche learners don't exist?

starkparker 3y ago
I certainly don't think they were/are remotely as monolithic of a culture as depicted here, and the post's thesis hinges on it being so.
- jvanderbot 3y ago
  I see. I disagree that collecting misfits makes for a monoculture, and that's how I read TFA. I assumed they were collecting lots of different kinds of people, not collecting from a monoculture of nerds like a overly specific subreddit or something.

Jensson 3y ago

> As for the supposed objectivity of the "weird nerd", I don't know what to say. I have met more conspiracy theorists in my interactions with "weird nerds" than in my everyday interactions with normal people. Conspiracy theorists are people who are obsessed with the "truth", so your observation supports the statement. Being a conspiracy theorist isn't self serving, the only reason to be one is that you care so much about the truth to ostracize yourself. When such people have a well calibrated mind we call them geniuses, but most people get things wrong here and there and then they become conspiracy theoriests since they chase stupid theories.