<p>It depends on the type of high school you go to.</p>
<p>Yeah, my high school noone really cared. You'd only get singled out if you are very unattractive, not so much smartness or what you wore.</p>
<p>I've never met a nerd; perhaps the climate here does not support them. In any case, the stereotypical 'smart' person whose mannerisms, interests, values, etc. conflict with the social norm and who is ostracized for that seems a little unrealistic. Intelligent people should, on the whole, be more adaptable than others; if an intelligent person wants to fit in, he/she will; behaviors can be modified, manners of speech can be changed to fit the environment. I am certain that there are also intelligent people who are not concerned with conformity, so they are, due to their lack of participation in the social structure, marginalized. Are these the 'nerds?' I've never seen one get shoved into a locker. </p>
<p>There certainly is a current of anti-intellectualism in this society; one can see that by turning on the television. Students resent (or at least pretend to resent) the so-called genius of the class. Part of it is jealousy, and part of it is that little boys grow up wishing to be football players, soldiers and astronauts, and girls dream of beauty pageants, instead of careers in the arts and sciences. </p>
<p>And since too many intelligent people asking too many dangerous questions is disadvantageous to the social order, perhaps this is the result of some sort of long-term trend whereby people in influential positions emphasize the value of loyalty and obedience over skepticism and curiosity.</p>
<p>good point nomir</p>
<p>i go to an average public high school in the suburbs. about half the kids here are in some way popular (like sports, dress more fashionalby, common interests). there are only a few nerdy kids, me and a few others, and we all pretty much take the same classes. </p>
<p>in my opinion, nerds are intelligent, but not that intelligent. they are socially awkward and typically don't care about their appearance. however, the intelligent kids at least have some sense of cool, but we mostly endeavor in intellectual pursuits. </p>
<p>my opinion on why nerdy kids, or intelligent kids, are unpopular is because there are simply so few of us. only about 1 % of the school is nerdy (if you go to an average high school). Because these smart kids are so rare, very few people have interests in common with them, making them unapproachable.</p>
<p>I don't want to be popular. the only thing thats good about being popular is getting good looking girls. but that's it. i would hate to be dumb and just care about sports (this characterizes the popular people at my school). i am a smart kid, and although i can pass off as normal if i really tried, it doesnt take people long to realize im smart. i am not saying that people know this because i talk about number theory, but because i lack certain social skills. i find it difficult to talk to people, primarily because i have nothing in common with them. because of this, i am considered a smart kid.</p>
<p>if nerds were 50 % of the school, they would be popular.</p>
<p>That WAS a very interesting article!!!</p>
<p>One thing I can definitely agree with is that the really popular kids in school don't make fun of nerds; they don't need to stoop to that level. It's all those kids, who think that they are cool but are yet insecure about their position in the high school heirarchy, that actually persecute the nerds.</p>
<p>[url=<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Why_Nerds_Are_Unpopular%5DHere%5B/url">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Why_Nerds_Are_Unpopular]Here[/url</a>] is a summary of the article from Wikipedia if you guys don't want to read the entire thing. If you scroll to the bottom, you can click on his responses to some of the feedback he has received and also, on another discussion thread.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>This is better phrased as: </p>
<p>If you scroll to the bottom of the page, there is a link to some of his responses to some of the feedback he has received. There is also a discussion thread that has been linked from the Wikipedia entry.</p>
<p>AHHH!!!!</p>
<p>My Take:</p>
<p>I don't think the true nerd exists as a huge demographic at schools anymore like in Freaks and Geeks. At least in my school, it was fairly rural but we pulled in from 5 towns and 3 counties so it was actually a fairly big school. The popular kids at my school were all in honors, athletics, & student council. There were some that were primarily athletes but all of the smart kids exhibited inclusion. I think this was the social breakdown of my school freshman year: Popular (jocks & smart jocks), then the smart atheletes that weren't in the top 3 (football, baseball, basketball), then the bandos (rest of the smart people), then the burn-outs and goths, then came the weirdos which seemed to have no point (not smart, not attractive, did odd things). Through 4 years the only thing that changed is some people got better-looking and upgraded their status and the goths died out and became punks (or preps) and the burn-outs stayed prevalent in all groups.</p>
<p>So where are the specific group that states "Nerds!" well there wasn't one. There was only a few true nerds in my class and most of them were involved with band or theatre so they still had a group. Only the valedictorian was a true nerd. Not really an impressive array of extracurriculars, only once she figured she needed them for college, not even nerd extra curriculars (which were usually dominated by smart atheletes and smart jocks).</p>
<p>I just don't think it is helpful in the scheme of things to be a true nerd anymore. Colleges are looking for able, talented, diverse people. Nerds aren't at the complete bottom anymore because there is no room for them. They have to be involved in something. Sometimes there are nerd groups but still not just nerds are in those groups. There is usually a mix.</p>
<p>My Situation:</p>
<p>I always heard about the separate nerd clique on tv and wondered if I would become part of the dreaded group or be one of the few to transcend to popularity (those "rare" smart-jocks that are oh so common in reality). Well I was too nervous to try-out for sports so it was a slow rise (especially in my school where athletics was all that mattered) but I was funny, eventually out-going, involved (clubs were my vice), likeable guy. I never entered nerd-world. It didn't exist.</p>
<p>I was actually one of the people that was liked in any group. From burn-outs to the popular (the only ones out of social reach were the popular kids not in honors so basically not many) I had many friends. No close friends but that's what you get when you don't belong to any certain group. I was too stupid-(acting, I was actually 3rd in my class) to be known as smart but not athletic enough to be truly popular (I eventually tried out but ended up quitting every sport I was in) and didn't do drugs or play an instrument and not quite funny enough to be known as class clown.</p>
<p>My only true friend was basically the only other guy in my situation. For us high school was limbo, liked by many that we considered fakes and morons. Delay from launch into college was interminable, high school was pointless and stifling. So there you have it, I was what would have been perfect for the nerd group situation yet I wasn't a nerd. Was anyone else here in my situation? Is it unusual or common? Just wondering aloud I guess.</p>
<p>
[quote]
goths died out and became punks (or preps)
[/quote]
Goths ---> Preps ? :eek:</p>
<p>No I dont think i was in your siutation. Or 'am' . I'm just considered an all-rounder.. I was involved only in sports in my 9th and 10th years. And then I realised that I needed cultural activies too for college apps. So I started doing more cultural stuff (like interact, sadd, publicity club, set painting, etc..)
I guess the first impressions stuck on for most people as most people think I'm still heavily into sports or something..</p>
<p>It's so weird reading about the freaks and geeks in your schools. 'geeks' in my school are just smart people. They have their own smart friends and do their weird immature stuff in the weekends. (uughh some are so immature)</p>
<p>I don't think there are any gothy people in my school.. The closest comes to the people that listen to metal and grow their hair a bit (except that's against school rules). We can't tell the difference between gothy people and other people (depressed ppl?) .. due to school rules: no makeup, no growing your hair long (for boys), and standard school uniform.</p>
<p>Therfore, we have no true geeks and true freaks in my school.</p>
<p>Yeah some of them became preps. One had to stop dyeing her hair b/c it started falling out!</p>
<p>None of it is true. If you have undesirable qualities (too skinny, too much acne, etc) then you'll never be popular no matter how much you try. Trying to be popular when you don't look attractive is like trying to stop Allen Iverson from dunking on you when you're the son of Bill Gates.</p>
<p>thats the best thing Ive read in this thread</p>
<p>Pshhh nerds own my school....no seriously....people who aren't smart, aren't cool. The people who take no honors classes, aren't involved in anything, and just plain do horrible well....they graduate and go to CC. If you're smart, you get out of the town. I love my school...hehe.</p>
<p>"nerds" tend to have different interests than most people. Plus bad at social situations. If they ever shift their interests to the norm or adjust to social situations, they will become just as popular as anyone else (I know this from personal experience).</p>
<p>Most people in this thread are saying "oh yeah nerds are popular" and sorry...but thats just not true no matter where you go. You are all living a naive dream!!!</p>
<p>I'm a nerd, but I'm not unpopular. But there's this other geek who is SUCH an outcast, meaning no one really likes him. He's considered to be smart, but he's no genious and has the worst personality. Really annoying person. Gets into people's business.</p>
<p>So I guess it depends on the kids around the nerd and the personality of the nerd.</p>
<p>REAL nerds (not that rude one in my class) are sooo cool. They're some of the coolest people to hang out with.</p>
<p>Nerds have the most fun.</p>
<p>^^ Yeppers. We are super cool.</p>
<p>nerd boys are hot :)</p>
<p>let's give a definition of "nerd".</p>