I'd imagine you are/were good at sports, so I'll try and explain
The main problem is the competetive nature of sports. Imagine if every English lesson or chemistry lesson involved dividing the class into halves and having a quiz which most involved took pretty seriously. If you were no good at those subjects you'd be jeered at and abused by your fellow pupils, accused of not trying, let the side down etc. Every single fucking time. Of course if you were good at the subject you'd love it - regularly looking good in front of your mates, loads of approval from the teachers. Do you start to see now?
( electric_goat, Mon 23 Apr 2012, 16:54, 2 replies)

Look,
you don't have to "explain", I get it.

It's a fair comment to make about not everyone being ultra competitive at sport; fine. My issue was more about the acceptance of being useless at one aspect of life but not another. Now I can't speak for you, but when I was at school, people got laughed at for being shit at English or science too. Never seen a classroom laugh at the kid who can't read the text of Shakespeare they're studying out loud properly? Kids eh, they're cunts.

I now work in IT and finance. Have you seen a bunch of IT geeks together? They're just as competitive and judgemental as any sporty types (although admittedly they're less likely to try and give you a wedgie). There is almost always some degree of people mocking the inferiority (perceived or otherwise) of others.

My point is just that it seems generally acceptable on here to not like sport, but not to dislike more academic endeavours. Just look at the grammar pedantry that goes on.

And to confirm your assumption, yes, I was pretty good at sport, but not a jock, but I was also a 'geek' to the cool kids and have a science PhD. Not that it matters.
(rockdoctor, Mon 23 Apr 2012, 17:04, closed)

Everyone on here
lives in their mother's basement, that's why.

What was your PhD in? I'm currently in the second year of mine in chemistry. (From one geek to another...)
(Petite chien is going to do science to it, Mon 23 Apr 2012, 17:46, closed)

There's no space left
in my mother's basement. it's where I keep small children in cages.

I was actually a chemist at first as an undergrad (at Cambridge too), then ended up as a geologist (application of thermodynamics to mineral equilibria dontcha know).

What's your area of research?
(rockdoctor, Mon 23 Apr 2012, 17:59, closed)

15 years on
Im still "doing" mine (also in Chemistry). I think my field might have moved on a bit since I was lastin the department.
( Ghoti Fingers, Mon 23 Apr 2012, 19:10, closed)

I hate to be the bearer of bad news
but if you're 15 years into a PhD you failed it 5 years ago. At least in the UK.
( the mighty badger Aphrodite, on a bar stool, by your side, Tue 24 Apr 2012, 10:01, closed)

All this PhD backslapping
reminded me of this.
(Misery McUglywife an attention seeking sociopathic fuckstain., Mon 23 Apr 2012, 23:38, closed)

Hab SoSlI' Quch!
( Happy Phantom has been to Hastings, Brighton, and Eastbourne too, Tue 24 Apr 2012, 0:06, closed)

Fuck!
Just spent nearly halfa on google translate and online klingon translators.
(Misery McUglywife an attention seeking sociopathic fuckstain., Tue 24 Apr 2012, 0:31, closed)

Must we all be good at art, philosophy, music, and pig-wrangling too? One of Da Vinci's proudest accomplishments was his ability to bend an iron bar with his hands, true - but the idea of "Renaissance Man" fell out of favour when specialization became more or less mandatory in order to advance.

I was a County level sprinter, and have an MSc. Not that it matters. I'm far more satisfied with the MSc than with a (largely abandoned) ability to run at above average speed for short periods of time - and as for the rest of sport, premiership and whatnot - I couldn't give one single fuck less.
( Happy Phantom has been to Hastings, Brighton, and Eastbourne too, Mon 23 Apr 2012, 18:12, closed)

they didn't offer pig wrangling as a choice at my school
otherwise, I'd have gone for it. as a general 'life skill', I'd rank it higher than basketball
(fat stavros, Mon 23 Apr 2012, 22:42, closed)

They did, but it was called "the disco".
( Happy Phantom has been to Hastings, Brighton, and Eastbourne too, Tue 24 Apr 2012, 0:03, closed)

Zing!

(Misery McUglywife an attention seeking sociopathic fuckstain., Tue 24 Apr 2012, 0:16, closed)

How many research scientists have multi-million dollar sponsorship deals with lab-coat manufacturers?
So society in general places great emphasis on traits that may not as a species race us further up the evolutionary ladder.
(Misery McUglywife an attention seeking sociopathic fuckstain., Mon 23 Apr 2012, 21:54, closed)

because there's a metric fuckton of keyboard warriors in here.
And keyboard warriors find it very hard to find time to devote to an actual outside pursuit, after all, somewhere, somebody is wrong, on the internet.
( the mighty badger Aphrodite, on a bar stool, by your side, Tue 24 Apr 2012, 10:03, closed)

This is exactly it
I loved the academic subjects I did at school *because* I was good at them and hated the humiliation that was trying to do sports, especially knowing that I was good at other stuff. I'm only now just about managing to enjoy exercise because I've found things that aren't competitive like yoga and ballroom dancing and other people of all abilities do them for fun too and nobody cares if you're no good. (I'm no good.)
(Petite chien is going to do science to it, Mon 23 Apr 2012, 17:06, closed)

Pff
Ballroom dancing non-competitive? I've seen Strictly Ballroom. They're bastards.
(rockdoctor, Mon 23 Apr 2012, 17:31, closed)

Ok, so they have "dancesport" classes
I go to the "social" dance classes (for the people not good enough to compete). And Strictly Ballroom is *hilarious*.

I have been told by friends that competitive yoga exists too. I'm not sure I believe them.
(Petite chien is going to do science to it, Mon 23 Apr 2012, 17:43, closed)

I can well believe it
Every time I go I get told not to do the 'difficult' moves (on account me being useless), whilst being observed mockingly by middle-aged women. The competitive bitches.
(rockdoctor, Mon 23 Apr 2012, 17:51, closed)