fanboy2000
Adventurer
I'm a nerd. And I'm sure I don't have an 18 Str.2) We're nerds. We can, I think readily admit to that - most D&D gamers are nerds, and I'm certainly no exception.
I think you're right. I think part of it is that when we see Str 18 or Dex 18 people on things like the Olympics, we don't see them doing the kinds of things D&D emulates, so it's really hard to imagine them doing something else.However, when thinking about the things a "fighting man" can do, we don't think of things an actual 18 strength physical monster would do, we think of things that we, the far-less-then-18-strength nerd can do. "I cannot imagine myself standing up in something a heavy as plate mail, ergo nobody can." In essence, the in-game reality is less real to actual reality due to people seeing things through their own flawed vision.
Here's an example for the thread. I was watching a live-action Spider-Man show at Universal Studios a couple of years ago. As part of that show, the guy playing Spider-Man hung upside down in that pose we so often see Spider-Man in. I was amazed that it was possible, but it was.