Smart people discrimination

[Triple Nine]

Im sure as atheists we have all heard and seen this, from movie plots that triumph having blind faith over being logical to real life attitudes. Smart people are still demonized in society. Sadly we still hold the view that the jock douchebag instead of the village thinker should be in charge. It's amazing hearing GROWN ASS ADULTS, not kids, not teens, adults, call smart people nerds and make fun of them. It boggles my mind. What is it that people are naturally are naturally sheep and feel threatened by anyone considered smart. It's like when people make fun of people who listen to underground music and call them "hipster". Where do you think this dislike of smart people or people who are perceived to be smart come from.

[SGOS]

Hard to say.  Jealousy maybe.  It seems like a lot of dumb people hate smart people.  Stupid people often like to glorify ignorance as "good ole common sense", and like to claim smart people don't have any common sense.  I don't pay much attention to it though.

[Atheon]

I remember seeing a TV ad when I was a kid. It went something like this:
"Big kids, little kids, tall kids, short kids, strong kids, computer kids."

Even at the time, I could see that with the pattern of opposites developed in the first four phrases, it essentially equated computer kids with weak kids.

So yes, smart kids were demonized when I was a kid. As were nerds and geeks.

Back then, there was no "geek chic" like there is today. I think things are somewhat better now for smart people than back then.

[Solitary]

I think the fact that most people are stupid and love competition in truculent sports that bring out the worst in people like me. :oops:   :shock:   :-$  Don't tell anyone. I think it is just ignorance and our basic animal instincts actually. If you think about it who did the girls like in High school and college, and some woman still do? Jocks with the muscles and strong that can protect them like OJ.  :shock:  Well it doesn't always work out right. Just think how many woman are still attracted to him and others with too many male hormones in prison? When it comes right down to it we are still animals first until the brain starts to think.  :roll:  And, "most people would rather die than think, and many do." Solitary

[AllPurposeAtheist]

Well then 'smart people' ought to figure out a way to minimalize the dumb people. To bad the really 'dumb ones' are rich and get elected to congress.
It's a perceptual issue, not a real issue. Plenty of big jocks are smart and plenty of skinny people with glasses are fucking stupid..
I am the lone skinny dude with glasses you can classify as 'smart'! :)
After all, I'm the only one who knows what street that is behind me in the picture.

[mykcob4]

Sociologically it's simple. The human mind is conditioned to hold obvious physical health as the number one requirement for leadership of the tribe. The human is still so far down and in the infancy of the evolotionary scale that it cannot as a whole consider abstract requirements for true leadership of the tribe.
So as far as success goes there are a few catagories that succeed:
1) The inherrited success like "W" and his family line.  "W" is the spoiled frat brat that got everything he acquired in life on his family name alone. He isn't very bright, never learned anything (skill/education)! He is a leader by default.
2) The selfmade person. Bill Clinton and Bill Gates of the world fall into this catagory. Unlike Clinton though, Gates had to overcome his nerdiness. He is respected as a leader out of shear need and the force of his financial power. Clinton, who is incredibly intelligent, has looks(health) and personality that make him a natural leader. His appearence alone will cause people to follow him.
3) Atheletic Prowess. Clinton could easily fall into this catagory if he were not a well educated and intelligent man. The prime example of this catagory is Gerald Ford. He was an athelete, exceptional in his day, and for that he gained priminence and power. Yes he was stupid and rather pedestrian but his early years as an outstanding athelete gained him the respect he needed to succeed.

Smart people and short people have essentially the same problem. People naturally discount them. Few leaders in history are or were short, or actually very smart. Infact historically if you wanted to defame someone you spread the rumor that they were short. Hitler was average and so was Napoleon, but to discredit them the rumor was spread that they were short or below average in stature.

[Jmpty]

It's different in China.

[Triple Nine]

It's different in China.

How and Why?

I remember seeing a TV ad when I was a kid. It went something like this:
"Big kids, little kids, tall kids, short kids, strong kids, computer kids."

Even at the time, I could see that with the pattern of opposites developed in the first four phrases, it essentially equated computer kids with weak kids.

So yes, smart kids were demonized when I was a kid. As were nerds and geeks.

Back then, there was no "geek chic" like there is today. I think things are somewhat better now for smart people than back then.

I don't think its much better. Geek chic is simply some fad among the "cool" kids that want to act that nerd is cool while demonizing actual nerds. They will be all geek is a cool style but show interest in Nintendo, figurines, or underground rock music and see how they react. It's contradictory but that is how people are. Nerds are still confined to their own circle and ostracized.

[Johan]

People ridicule those whom they don't understand and whom they also perceive to be weaker or at least a non-threat. Being smarter tends to tick off both of those required boxes.

[Colanth]

Hard to say.  Jealousy maybe.  It seems like a lot of dumb people hate smart people.  Stupid people often like to glorify ignorance as "good ole common sense", and like to claim smart people don't have any common sense.  I don't pay much attention to it though.

"Common sense" says the world is flat.  "Common sense" says that the sun revolves around the Earth.  Intelligence says that common sense is pretty common and usually nonsense.

[Sayshell]

There is a difference between nerd and smart. Everyone hates nerds because they are argumentative dicks who are just as competitive as a jock but just academically compete instead. If someone explains things in a way people can understand instead of being pretentious and just trying to look smart it's been my experience they usually are listened to. HOWEVER I live in Canada. I think in the US it's pretty much the exact opposite.

[Fidel_Castronaut]

I guess I grew up somewhere completely different to the OP because intelligence was lauded as a virtue along with competitiveness both in academia and sport.

I guess jealousy is one thing, though. Although intelligence isn't the be all end all defining factor of a person, at least not IMO. It's hard to define exactly what intelligence is for a start.

[Plu]

There is a difference between nerd and smart. Everyone hates nerds because they are argumentative dicks who are just as competitive as a jock but just academically compete instead. If someone explains things in a way people can understand instead of being pretentious and just trying to look smart it's been my experience they usually are listened to. HOWEVER I live in Canada. I think in the US it's pretty much the exact opposite.

Everybody seems to have a different opinion of nerd, because "competetive" and "argumentative" are two properties I've never heard in the definition of the word before.

[Icarus]

There is a difference between nerd and smart. Everyone hates nerds because they are argumentative dicks who are just as competitive as a jock but just academically compete instead. If someone explains things in a way people can understand instead of being pretentious and just trying to look smart it's been my experience they usually are listened to. HOWEVER I live in Canada. I think in the US it's pretty much the exact opposite.

Being as argumentative dick is how you get things done quickly. When you're problem solving with some of your work colleges (who are also your friends) everyone tends to be very defensive about their standpoint on an unverified topic. I've had a discussion like this on the possible mechanisms for silicone based life. As not much is empirically known on the topic our discussion so we all can defend our theories almost equally. Academia is competitive and with that competition you get people who are dick all the time and people who are dicks when they think they're right. In regard to explaining things in a way people can understand, that can just be caused the the person not knowing how to explain something to a particular person because they don't know how informed that person is. For example, if I were to attempt to explain basic enzyme mechanics to someone with little scientific education it would be very difficult because I would have to explain a list of other concepts before I could explain enzyme mechanics with any degree of accuracy.

I would say most of the people I know are nerds but none are constant dicks.

[Colanth]

Think Columbus (I think) Ohio.  I can't tell you what street, because the only time I was there (and that was many decades ago) I was trying to figure out the detour they had around almost the entire city, so I could get through it and to my destination, which was a few states away.