I’ve just dug up this fascinating article on nerds by the controversial political thinker, Steve Sailer.
http://www.isteve.com/nerds.htm
In the article, Sailer speculates that nerdishness is just another manifestation of masculinity and then defines nerdishness by comparing it to the rather more well-known archetype of masculinity, the “Big Man”. From the article:
[i]1. Nerds are more “object-oriented,” Big Men are more people-oriented.
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Nerds tend to focus narrowly but deeply (single-tasking), Big Men broadly but shallowly (multitasking). Nerds lack the “situational awareness” that the Air Force prizes in fighter pilots, but their ability to concentrate obsessively makes them good at designing the planes that pilots fly.
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Nerds work best asynchronously (as Howard says, they never say the right thing at the right time – I can vividly recall walking along after a college history class, thinking about the Austro-Hungarian Empire, when some black friend passing by said, “Hey, what’s happening?”
“Hmmhmmh???,” I thought to myself in consternation, “What exactly is happening? Well, the Austro-Hungarian Empire is definitely not happening, but what is?” About five minutes later, I came up with a clever, but by now useless, reply, which later I could never seem to remember the next time somebody asked me "What’s happening?).
In contrast, Big Men are better when they are “in the flow” (of the discussion, the hunt, the battle, the basketball game, or whatever).
Interestingly, in terms of cerebral skills, nerds tend to be more stereotypically masculine than Big Men, who benefit from stereotypically female mental skills like emotional intuition and multi-tasking. In contrast, nerds tend to be less traditionally masculine than Big Men in physical/emotional traits like muscularity, self-confidence, aggressiveness, etc.[/i]
I believe that the T-Nation comprises a healthy mix of both nerds and Big Men. With these characteristics in mind, one could read an article and then easily designate to which type the author belongs (Unless of course a nerd is doing fantastic job of emulating a big man. Let’s face it, only nerds emulate other nerds).
For instance, I would wager that Christian Thibadeaux is nerd in meathead’s clothing: his acute attention to detail betrays his nerdish obessiveness. By contrast, TC Luoma sets out to beat the reader down at the beginning of the article while simultaneously building him up, drill sergeant/big man style (nerds make terrible drill sergeants, by the way).
Also, TC’s articles address the emotional psyche of the reader, albeit in an extremely masculine way, whereas Thibadeaux’s articles are essentially formulas intended to be executed by the reader in a precise, mechanical fashion.
It’s of course counterintuitive to assume that a bodybuilding site would attract nerds as well as jocks, but it makes sense if you think about it. Nerds are just as competitive as Big Men, if not more so (You think being in a gym can be intimidating? Try submitting a scientific paper for peer review), but nerds lack the “situational awareness” and adroitness while “in the flow” that popular real-time sports demand - I recently read an article in ESPN where Quarterback David Carr was criticized for thinking too much instead of just acting; I wonder if he’s a nerd.
In any case, bodybuilding accommodates nerdishness well. It allows the nerd to exercise his strengths: it gives the obsessive nerd adequate time to harness every possible advantage that he can find, and the nerd can use his exceptional capacity for forethought to plan to down to the exact number of reps he’ll need to construct the most efficient possible workout.
Nerds also, it must be said, have trouble with women. Not naturally keen to a woman’s emotional demands like their Big Men brethren, a nerd’s troubles are only compounded by society’s reinforcement of the nutless Wuss.
The poor, diffident nerd may turn to bodybuilding in unconscious attempt to medicate himself, much for the same reasons a scientist will attempt to vindicate his existence by relentlessly pursuing a great discovery.
Einstein said that a scientist will do his best work before he gets married, which is as much to say that a nerd will work hard for recognition, especially from a female, until he gets laid. I speak here from personal experience.
I’d like to get some feedback from my new comrades here at T-Nation. Have any of you made similar observations? Are you a nerd or a Big Man? If you are a nerd, did you get into bodybuilding primarily to attract more women or perhaps was it because you wished to be more like a Big Man?
All comments are welcome.
