Except that, in general, Smart & Nerdy people do NOT wind up in positions of power. Smart & nerdy wind up in technical positions, while slightly-above average but sociopathic and from wealth is the general recipe for positions of power, at least in North America, with a small exception for smart and sociopathic for tech corporations. A study was done in the 90's, and found that senior execs in fortune 500 companies are far more likely than the general populace to have sociopathy. Likewise, it's quite evident from the behavior that quite a few elected politicians have no moral compass whatsoever, and the rest seem generally "ethically challenged"... Wealthy, attractive, and without a conscience is the recipe for success in a market economy. I mean, looking at the last few UK PM's and US Presidents, US Speaker of the House, and Senate Majority Leader and Minority Whip, They're not really all that smart. Not stupid, but they all frequently say some of the damnedest inanities.
...yeah, I like Elizabeth Warren, too.
But I wasn't talking about Fortune 500 CEOs or specific elected officials. That's not a big enough sample size, nor are those representative of powerful positions as a whole. Firstly, there are no educational requirements for any of those jobs. Secondly, a successful person can very easily put their kid in charge when they retire.
When it comes to personality types, the administrative agencies and the federal judiciary might as well be ComicCon. Why? Because, unlike elected positions, appointed positions generally require
credentials. And those credentials often include good grades, elite graduate degrees from schools that base their admissions on standardized tests, publications, and demonstrable work experience in fields that value the same. I'm not saying all or even most of them are nerds (though they probably are); I'm saying that nerds are extremely overrepresented.
But, like I said at the beginning, I wasn't really talking about government or corporate senior management. I was talking about the highest ranks of the professions. And I can assure you that the power hitters in law, investment banking, consulting, engineering, medicine, the military, the (mainline) clergy, and the like are much, much nerdier than the average bear.
Whether you end up in an executive or professional position vs. underappreciated IT support purgatory, meanwhile, has more to do with your interpersonal skills than with your love of elfgames and spaceshows. There are plenty of extroverted (or faking it) nerds expensing business class flights, and plenty of introverted bros languishing near the bottom of the Enterprise Architecture org chart.
As for sociopathy, there are just as many nerdy sociopaths as not-nerdy sociopaths. Probably more. Being a nerd doesn't make you a good person; just ask any female who likes comics or video games and either attends in-person events or puts her opinions on the internet.