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PaperclipPerfector  1d ago (text post)   1239 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for January 16, 2026

Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

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Scott's sort-of obituary for Scott Adams is one of the best things he's written in ages.

This was a wonderful read, thank you for linking. This part had me feeling REAL called out:

The variety of self-hating nerd are too many to number. There are the nerds who go into psychology to prove that EQ is a real thing and IQ merely its pale pathetic shadow. There are the nerds who become super-woke and talk about how reason and objectivity are forms of white supremacy culture. There are the nerds who obsess over “embodiment” and “somatic therapy” and accuse everyone else of “living in their heads”. There are the nerds who deflect by becoming really into neurodiversity - “the interesting thing about my brain isn’t that I’m ‘smart’ or ‘rational’, it’s that I’m ADHDtistic, which is actually a weakness . . . but also secretly a strength!” There are the nerds who flirt with fascism because it idolizes men of action, and the nerds who convert to Christianity because it idolizes men of faith. There are the nerds who get really into Seeing Like A State, and how being into rationality and metrics and numbers is soooooo High Modernist, but as a Kegan Level Five Avatar they are far beyond such petty concerns. There are the nerds who redefine “nerd” as “person who likes Marvel movies” - having successfully gerrymandered themselves outside the category, they can go back to their impeccably-accurate statisticsblogging on educational outcomes, or their deep dives into anthropology and medieval mysticism, all while casting about them imprecations that of course nerds are loathsome scum who deserve to be bullied.

I disagree that those things originate from “reaction formation” against not being the smartest person. They are more easily explained by the general fact that humans get passionate about things they like and have a habit of exaggerating its importance. Somewhere out there is a surfer or painter or deadhead who never cared for intelligence yet believes his chosen hobby is the balm of mankind. That’s just what everyone does. If they have no intellectual pursuit, then this comes out in their consumer purchases or luxury experiences, as another way to obtain a sense of self-importance. This quote isn’t exactly fitting but as Pascal notes,

Vanity is so anchored in the heart of man that a soldier, a soldier's servant, a cook, and a porter brags and wishes to have his admirers. Even philosophers wish for them. Those who write against it want to have the glory of having written well; and those who read it desire the glory of having read it. I who write this have perhaps this desire, and perhaps those who will read it…

As for those believing “nerds are loathsome scum who deserve to be bullied”, I’ve never actually seen this directed against anyone but those who like Marvel and Funkopops. Usually niche interest enjoyers have respect for other niche interest enjoyers. Scott’s implicit assumption appears to be that everyone who does not worship strict empirical rational inquiry is coping with not being the best at rationalism, which is quite the convenient line for someone who is the very face of rationalism. But EQ and embodiment are probably interesting things to get passionate about. If you don’t believe in EQ, you’ll have to explain why the smartest students in the world party on the weekend to rap music made by artists with a low IQ. This is my favorite example demonstrating EQ, becaus there are a lot of high IQ people who wish they could be rappers, but no one parties to their music on the weekends.

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