MakeYourself

I can understand that, but I also think that there is nothing 'negative' about being a geek, and that you can be a geek and be normal. I'm also not trying to say that every academic is like the characters on the show, just that there is some truth to the characters and I don't think the show should irritate academics so much.

Right, but this thread is about BBT.

It's a phrase because geeks have a culture, just like everything else does. You as an individual might identify with certain aspects of the culture, but not all of it. There is no need to hate on the phrase though, we are all embedded in culture in one way or another.

Oh boo hoo. Stereotypes have a purpose, there are many stereotypes that are true and many generalizations that one could make about any group of people. Academics are often geeks and nerds, it's the truth, suck it up. Yes, the show is over-exaggerated but it's a comedy show on cable TV, it's not setting out to be a realistic portrayal of life, it's just playing on common stereotypes which can be funny - it's okay to laugh at yourself once in a while. Also, I think it is one of the better-written sitcoms on cable TV right now (which is not saying much cause sitcoms suck pretty bad nowadays). And I'm not sure how much you've watched the show, but they make the audience laugh at Penny as well. Penny's role is not necessarily to be the 'normal' one, her role is contrasted with the main 'geeky' characters and the show makes just as much fun of her as they do of the geeks. If anything, the 'normal' non-academic people that I know who watch the show love the academic characters and think that the show has made 'geeky' cool. It seems like academics are the only ones angry about being called geeks, but it is what you make it.

Nope, I love geeks and am one too.

Gangsta rap.

I think this show is quite an accurate portrayal of academics and it only pisses people off because it's so true. If you disagree, see my other thread entitled 'are grad students even human?' ... and I rest my case.

FU

No love for Tractarian Witt?

I suggest you fuck shit up.

Bumping this thread because I have the same question.

I am not a business person and therefore do not have a business card.

Dress however the f you want... who cares if you wear yoga pants.

If anything, this thread shows that you're all a bunch of geeks.

Thoughts?

I don't hate people for not liking my music I just hate people in general

As the thread starter, I second this.

Lol what the hell is wrong with being influenced by a subculture or contributing to a subculture? Might as well not exist if we're going to start calling adults irresponsible for being influenced by culture. I get it if music is not your 'thing' and that's completely fine, but since you can't relate to it, then maybe you should try not to dictate what other people do or how they let music influence them. Because most likely you don't really understand what music is about. Just because you have a problem with music doesn't mean that adults who consider music a big part of their life are immature or irresponsible.

Well, as I said before, artists are sensitive people, and attacking a musician about their music is sure to hurt their feelings the same way attacking an artists's painting would hurt theirs. Or hell, even in the same way as attacking a paper that an academic wrote.

I am guilty of being the person obsessed with music. Honestly, if I don't listen to music every day I feel like something is missing.... People say 'music saved my life' for different reasons. Some people mean that it literally saved their life as in they became a succesful musician and otherwise would have been dirt poor. What most fans mean when they say this is that they were going through a difficult time in their life and music helped them cope and pulled them through. I know that I can say I've had such an experience multiple times. I understand some people not being that 'into' music though, I don't think it's a problem. People just gravitate towards different things and have different personalities. I will never understand the appeal of sports but some people live for sports. I find that most 'hardcore' music fans are really sensitive people - I know I am. Maybe it takes a sensitive sort of personality to be able to really get lost in a song and have it impact you in a strong way? Oh and the whole fashion thing - for a lot of people, music is a lifestyle or a sub-culture. Punk music has it's own sub-culture and life style, way of dressing, the same way that hip hop has it's own life style and fashion too. And when I say this I don't just mean 'popular fashion.'

No, that is not what I mean when I say nonsense. What I mean is literally not making sense or talking illogically. My problem is not with 'simple' talk vs. 'intellectual' talk or the subject of talk. I don't think I'm conveying myself very well.

As the thread starter, I hope you are not aiming these remarks at me. If you are, I think you are missing the point I am trying to make. As I mentioned previously, I do not think of myself more highly than non-academics. My area of focus covers philosophy of mind, logic, and analytical philosophy, and so I have been trained to think in ways that most people do not think in. Again, I don't think I'm better than others because of this, but a result of this has been that I find it difficult to relate to many people (both academic and non-academic) who haven't had the same training. I think that if you are not familiar with my area of focus then it would be difficult to understand why. The point I have been trying to make this whole time is that I wish I could relate to people outside of academia and have non-academic friends. Hell, I would even take academic friends. Honestly, the problem is not being able to relate to others at all. I don't know why others in this thread are interpreting this as me thinking I'm too good for non-academics, when in fact, it's the opposite.

Right, I agree with you on that. I'm not trying to insuniate that only academics are intelligent (in fact, I think many academics are not so bright). Plus I don't think there is only one way to conceptualize intelligence.. but that's another topic. Anyway, I think the point of this thread for me is that in general, I have always had problems relating to others, and I think academia has accentuated this problem for me. Personally, becoming an academic for me hasn't been only about 'learning facts', but it has been about changing my way of thinking and developing critical thinking skills. Yes, of course, I know that people outside of academia can be critical thinkers too, but I think that for me, academia has contributed even more to me not being able to relate to others by fostering a way of thinking that is much different than the 'norm.' Maybe this problem is specific to my discipline though. The point was never to say that non-academics are stupid or incapable of holding intelligent conversation (although I do think that many people, including academics, talk a lot of nonsense). And somehow I digressed from my main point and began wondering why it is so much easier for academics to be labelled as 'arrogant' or 'highly' than other people.

This is entirely case-dependent. There are also many other professions in which this is the case: artists, athletes, musicians, lawyers, politics, just to name a few. And most academics don't claim to be experts in applied fields if they aren't in an applied program, and if they are in an applied program, their program usually requires them to have applied experience. I know there are some academics that think they are above others just because they have a PhD, but Im not talking about those people. It's funny to me that you think there arent other professions in which people devote their lives to their jobs. It doesn't matter if you're a janitor or a Harvard PhD, you devote time to what you do and because you give time, you become an expert. But for some reason people get defensive and upset when an academic tries to show their expertise.

No, I don't think any of those things. As I mentioned several times, I actually prefer to not have intellectual conversations with friends, I want to have 'normal' conversations. And I dont think of myself as 'highly' either. Why is it the case that people of any other profession can be show off their expertise and they don't get called 'arrogant' but when academics talk about their expertise they are automatically pretentious or too 'highly'? I think you are missing the point I'm trying to make.