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<blockquote data-quote="Snoweel" data-source="post: 968240" data-attributes="member: 4453">Two points-1. An American friend I had in Sweden was amazed at the lack of social stratification in highschools in other parts of the world.Both in Australia and Sweden (and I'm guessing the rest of Europe, judging by the anecdotes of people I've met), virtually everybody is a little bit geek, a little bit jock, a little bit dopehead (especially in Sydney), etc, etc, etc.People are a lot less vilified for whichever stereotype they conform to (and I'm only going on what Americans have told me and what I've seen on Ricky Lake et al - it's &quot;the natural order&quot; for popular people to pick on unpopular people in American teen-culture), and in fact, here in Oz, bullies tend to be ganged up on by everybody else rather than worshipped or adored - Being an a$$hole is not cool, no matter how good you are.So I think American geeks have it worse than geeks in other parts of the world (I'm not sure of the real reason behind this), and having &quot;You are inferior and a victim&quot; reinforced into your subconscious every day of your socially formative years can do horrible damage to your self-esteem and confidence.2. I don't know if it's a chicken or egg thing, but I find geeks, as well as having the confidence knocked out of them by the time they hit sexual maturity, also tend to be largely disinterested in social dynamics and group politics.I mean, there are some that may on a Saturday night, rue the fact that they're unpopular and don't know any chicks (I'm talking to guys here, because female geeks are never as socially isolated as male geeks), but on the whole, these geeks are far more interested in their hobbies than their social status.Like I said, I don't know exactly which comes first - the lack of social nous or the lack of concern for such, but I'm sure it's ultimately a vicious circle.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Snoweel, post: 968240, member: 4453"] Two points- 1. An American friend I had in Sweden was amazed at the [b]lack[/b] of social stratification in highschools in other parts of the world. Both in Australia and Sweden (and I'm guessing the rest of Europe, judging by the anecdotes of people I've met), virtually [b]everybody[/b] is a little bit geek, a little bit jock, a little bit dopehead (especially in Sydney), etc, etc, etc. People are a lot less vilified for whichever stereotype they conform to (and I'm only going on what Americans have told me and what I've seen on Ricky Lake et al - it's "the natural order" for popular people to pick on unpopular people in American teen-culture), and in fact, here in Oz, bullies tend to be ganged up on by everybody else rather than worshipped or adored - Being an a$$hole is [b]not[/b] cool, no matter how good you are. So I think American geeks have it worse than geeks in other parts of the world (I'm not sure of the real reason behind this), and having "You are inferior and a victim" reinforced into your subconscious every day of your socially formative years can do horrible damage to your self-esteem and confidence. 2. I don't know if it's a chicken or egg thing, but I find geeks, as well as having the confidence knocked out of them by the time they hit sexual maturity, also tend to be largely disinterested in social dynamics and group politics. I mean, there are some that [b]may[/b] on a Saturday night, rue the fact that they're unpopular and don't know any chicks (I'm talking to guys here, because female geeks are [b]never[/b] as socially isolated as male geeks), but on the whole, these geeks are far more interested in their hobbies than their social status. Like I said, I don't know exactly which comes first - the lack of social nous or the lack of concern for such, but I'm sure it's ultimately a vicious circle. [/QUOTE]

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