It is such a common element of culture but when I look closely it doesn't make too much sense.
What are the general characteristics of a nerd?
- Smart and interested in academics.
- Physically underdeveloped and bad at sports.
- Socially awkward and unattractive.
Does this cluster make sense to you?
Sure, health problems can make you both unattractive (and subsequently awkward) and small/weak/uncoordinated. But what do smarts have to do with this? I'm guessing statistically a healthy kid is likely to do better at school than an unhealthy one.
So how do nerds come to be?
Is that because kids who don't do well socially are more motivated to excel academically?
Do smart cool athletic kids refrain from getting into nerd stuff because it's frowned upon in the cool circles?
Is being a nerd a sort of a "mild" autistic spectrum thing?
Also, a follow up question. Are nerds actually smarter on average by any measurement? Why or why not?
And now nerds do the shitty "git gud" bullshit over online games. there's no escape :agony-minion:
Is that really a thing outside the dark souls community? Also gamers have been shits about gaming for decades. It's a major plot point in The Wizard in '89 and is probably just a continuation from people being shitty about Chess, which dates it back to like 800ad.
As soon as esports got popular, I recognized a marked increase in terrible attitudes
Competitive gaming and its consequences have been a disaster for video game culture.