Why do the more intelligent people gravitate towards the "nerdy" stuff?

[Vigormortis]

How is it sterotypeing? It should be safe to assume that the people answering are also nerds and geeks. People's answers are reflective of their lived experiences.

stereotype
noun
: an often unfair and untrue belief that many people have about all people or things with a particular characteristic

Saying nerds are generally all not intelligent is the definition of stereotyping. It would be the same if everyone was saying nerds were all very intelligent. It's still stereotyping.

Just because the person doing the stereotyping may associate themselves with the group they're making the comments about doesn't mean they're not still stereotyping.

 

[Loonyyy]

Haha. No. Most of the nerdy folk I hung out with in High School weren't particularly bright, and afterwards, they did even less. There are a few standouts, but just as many of them were into music, or theatre, than videogames, and comicbooks weren't particularly common at all.

Nerdy people like some things which are tangentially related to things that more intelligent people like. For instance, science fiction. That gives them the veneer of knowledge, not the same thing. They might enjoy reading about spaceships, but are about as qualified to contribute to their construction as any other regular asshole: Not at all.

Groups like the "LARP" or "TECH" society at my University are strictly in the minority. And that's fine. You should enjoy things because you enjoy them, not to pretend you're more intelligent. If you're more intelligent, go and use that intelligence, do something useful. The world needs doctors, scientists, engineers.

I think what's more likely is an awful lot of nerdy folk aren't particularly socially aware or intelligent when it comes to human interaction, and that tends to isolate them. I always had a hard time of it and the excuse given that people are jealous/you're just smarter than them/more bullshit, is just a comforting excuse. I had a few friends who performed similarly academically, and they didn't have nearly the same trouble, because they were just better with people, and I didn't try, because it was easier to think I was better than them. And being able to interact with people, and be charming, and likeable, is a skill, it takes knowledge, and people ought to be proud of that one. A lot of nerds find that out way too late.

 

[Addendum_Forthcoming]

How is it sterotypeing? It should be safe to assume that the people answering are also nerds and geeks. People's answers are reflective of their lived experiences.

stereotype
noun
: an often unfair and untrue belief that many people have about all people or things with a particular characteristic

Saying nerds are generally all not intelligent is the definition of stereotyping. It would be the same if everyone was saying nerds were all very intelligent. It's still stereotyping.

Just because the person doing the stereotyping may associate themselves with the group they're making the comments about doesn't mean they're not still stereotyping.

Nobody is saying that as far as I can tell. What people are saying is geeks and nerds are not any more or less brighter than others.

As per my lived experiences, I find this to be true. And intelligent people are not somehow more or less nerdy than anyone else I meet in society.

I've been around some of the brightest minds of the generation. They're not by dint of intellect more nerdy. I do nerdy things.... love World of Darkness rpgs, average intelligence.

In highschool I got picked on by older bullies and nerds looking to feverishly be off the lowest social ladder rung, it was our year group rugby team fullback who told them to fuck off. Even helped me take on a year 11 senior 4 years older who gave me no other option but to fight back. He was also far more intelligent than the average 'nerd' in our year.

It also seems to be the consensus of people that nerdy things does not make intelligent people, nor does it have any special correlation to intelligence.

 

[CrystalShadow]

I don't think of comics, videogames, or SFF as particularly nerdy. 'Nerd' spaces have been co-opted by 'normies' for years now-- for better, and worse.

Even Sports which is typically viewed as the anti-intellect crowd has a fair share of it's own intelligent people. I've met a lot of people who were really really into sports, who were vastly better at problem solving then, say... some Star Trek fans I've seen.

The smartest people I have ever met are massive sports fans. They will obsessively collect data, then find new and innovative ways to predict future performance. A couple of them have earned jobs with clubs in top-tier leagues. Others do it as a hobby, using their data for gambling purposes.

Lol. And by oldfashioned definitions of what it means to be a Nerd, that, Ironically, makes them sports nerds.

The fact that it's possible to be one of those is kind of hilarious.

Although if you note the definition of a nerd as someone with an obsessive interest in a particular topic, the old stereotype of jocks vs nerds starts to look pretty absurd as well. (because arguably the jocks are equally as obsessive, and but for the fact that their obsession isn't an intellectual one, they could be called nerds as well)

In regards to the op, it's because in a lot of cases, what (traditionally at least) was regarded as a nerdy hobby typically required a fair degree of intelligence to be able to do.
You didn't need to be a genius perhaps, but it could get a little complicated, and you had to be willing to put in the effort to understand the complexities of the various hobbies to get much out of them.

But, over time things that were once complicated became simpler, and, well, nerd culture went mainstream, and these days you just never know anymore.

 

[mecegirl]

How is it sterotypeing? It should be safe to assume that the people answering are also nerds and geeks. People's answers are reflective of their lived experiences.

stereotype
noun
: an often unfair and untrue belief that many people have about all people or things with a particular characteristic

Saying nerds are generally all not intelligent is the definition of stereotyping. It would be the same if everyone was saying nerds were all very intelligent. It's still stereotyping.

Just because the person doing the stereotyping may associate themselves with the group they're making the comments about doesn't mean they're not still stereotyping.

Who said all? Or even that they are generally not intelligent? I don't see anyone saying all nerds are unintelligent, just that the idea that they are all intelligent is untrue. And talking about the nerds who aren't intelligent as a counterpoint to the stereotype that nerds are generally intelligent is not the same as creating a new stereotype. It is bringing up coutnter points to prove that a stereotype is not true.

 

[Vigormortis]

snip

I came in to refute the OPs claims. I just didn't expect people to be saying, "From my experience, most nerds are actually dumb." It seemed counterproductive to refute a stereotype with another. That's all I was saying.

I could have worded my post better, admittedly, and I could have made it a bit less hostile, but I was in a foul mood and let that frustration bleed through. My apologies.

It also seems to be the consensus of people that nerdy things does not make intelligent people, nor does it have any special correlation to intelligence.

That was to be my claim, but....well, read above.

 

[Yopaz]

Well, ignoring the fact that lots of people love "nerdy things" and not all of them are intelligent ket's dig deeper.

You aren't intelligent from birth. It's what you do, your environment, your parents and there might be something innate to, but I am not convinced in that regard.

When I was younger I loved reading. I could finish a book or several books a week depending on how much time I had. Now I spend my days reading research articles and science books and I have been doing fairly well, not great in academics. I think the reason for doing as well as I have is that I have always loved reading and I have been getting a lot of practice making it easier for me to study and thus it's also easier for me to build up a conventional impression of intelligence.

Also as lot of people have already mentioned, you don't have to be intelligent just because you're a nerd. I see quite a few on this site who think they are intelligent yet fail in critical thinking, they fail to learn from their mistakes and they refuse to accept that sometimes other people know more than you and you should listen to what they say and consider if they might be right or partially right.

 

[Smooth Operator]

That might have been some kind of distinction back when nerd stuff wasn't a fashion statement, now people just pose around in nerd shit because it's cool.
And yes I know plenty of "nerds" who are genuine idiots, I don't mean they have an inability to learn intelligent topics I mean they deliberately choose to coast through life on a minimum effort put toward knowledge. Ignorance is what creates idiots, it's not a genetic pre-disposition.

Obviously we all have our blind spots, the question is do you aim to undo them or imagine they aren't there.

 

[Addendum_Forthcoming]

That was to be my claim, but....well, read above.

Ahhh, then we're somewhat in agreement.

That being said, there is somewhat of a disconnect between nerd and geek stuff in general. I wouldn't class video games as geek or nerd culture, because everyone in the West and East plays them to a certain extent. And hell, whilst Magic was considered niche when I was in school, 5 years later you had pokemon and pokemon cards, and it seemed like every young child had them. This may be confirmation bias, but it certainly seemed that way to me.

Anime .... well, see there seems to be anime and anime. Like I don't really watch all that much, particularly now. But I love Spice and Wolf (Manga, anime and light novels) ... and I would think the majority who have seen Akira are probably not heavily into anime, but it's an awesome movie. So I think for at least half or more people that watch some form of anime, most people are only going to tell you at most 40 things they've seen ... and they could only likely name maybe two or three big name anime production people.

Like I doubt anyone with even a fleeting interest in film hasn't heard of Miyazaki.

And the list kind of goes on.

I'll give you a completely subjective idea of some of the big things in geek culture that I think is firmly entrenched.

Cosplay
Tabletop gaming
Trading Card Games
Niche consumption anime (up-to-date with what's on in Japan, obscure anime from the 80s, basically anyone invested in it)
Old Doctor Who (Unless you're British or Australian, the old Doctor Who didn't really find popular consumption)
Trekkies
Comics
Monty Python (Beyond the movies)
-----

There's probably a ton more that I can think of, but some basics off the top of my head.

The thing is that these geek past times are not exactly conducive to fostering some form of intelligentsia within these cliques that identify with a lot of aspects of geek culture. If anything, a lot of it would probably dumb down your intellectual faculties if you were to obsess over them. If you ONLY read comic books, I don't think you'd be as worldly or wise as someone who has read all the literary classics, and converses with clubs and in university circles about their various social, historical and philosophical connotations.

I don't mind a lot of comic books, kind of digging Angela: Asgard's Assassin and Colder: Bad Seed. But as fun as I think they are, I'm not going to lie and say that they deserve to exist AS MUCH as anything from Dickens. As much as I enjoy Spice and Wolf, I'm not going to say that it is on par with anything by Soren Kierkegaard.

I also think it's entirely broken to compare the two, because both of them are not trying to achieve the same goals and as vehicles of entertainment and storytelling I think they are both effective. But at the same time I'm not going to pretend that both of them will have equal impact on the progress and culture of humanity. I don't think geek culture is inherently good for people ... but I would suggest to people to pick up philosophy, or the works of Dickens.

So the idea that nerd and geek culture draws in intelligent minds because of inherent intellectual faculties necessary for entry... I think it's garbage. Particularly given that various things considered geeky or nerdy are things capable of wide reception by the public, now.

(Edit) I will also say that I was at one time big into cosplay (and other 'geeky or nerdish' activities) back when I hadn't really cemented my gender identity, kind of a social outcast. I will also note that due to Klinefelter's and other conditions, I'm barely able to function without concentration and singular focus. It took me thre times reading in quick succession the books of Sartre, Kant, Plato, Kierkegaard, Hegel, Wittgenstein and more to even soak in.

Without resorting to Sternberg's triarchic theory of intelligence and Gardner's multiple facets of intelligence theory, and all that, it's safe to say that I'm probably retarded in terms of a flat examination of 'raw' intellectual processing. Given that if I can't focus, my mind goes blank. But I was still able to achieve academic success in multiple branches of tertiary education. Was even offered a place to study at one of the best research universities in the world.

Intelligence is definitely not a barrier to understanding aspects of geek and nerd culture, or in its participation. As the OP puts it, I would definitely cerify myself as 'legitimately stupid' ... the saving grace of this is that I'm nowhere near as hindered as a person who is 'legitimately genius' and thinks they have all the answers.

 

[inmunitas]

*snip*

There is no such thing as "geek" or "nerd" culture, you are just playing off American-centric stereotypes.

 

[Addendum_Forthcoming]

*snip*

There is no such thing as "geek" or "nerd" culture, you are just playing off American-centric stereotypes.

Given that the OP suggested these as actual topics of discussion (games, cosplay, etc), with the implications that intellectuals readily attach themselves to it, I fail to see what I did wrong? Also Australian. And I added that (albeit in an edit) that I was big into one of the activities that the OP suggested were generally indicative of people with higher intellects than average.

I also said that I was 'legitimately stupid' in a stock idea of what intelligence is typically connoted as being.