• Question: does the stereotype of scientist being nerd and having no social life affect you?

    Asked by thereallindabuck to Alison, Artem, Caroline, John, Gunther on 11 Jun 2012.
    • Photo: Artem Evdokimov

      Artem Evdokimov answered on 11 Jun 2012:

      I am aware of the stereotype, but it does not really affect me in the everyday sense. Scientists look and behave (mostly) just like regular people. If I don’t tell people what I do, they can assume any number of occupations for me – and the same applies to pretty much any scientist out there. Contrary to the Hollywood image of a scientist, not many of us wear lab coats outside of the lab (that’s unsafe), most of us are not absent-minded, and we rarely use quantum physics terms outside of their proper context.

    • Photo: John Short

      John Short answered on 12 Jun 2012:

      It doesn’t affect me at all and I have never really thought about it to be honest, I just go out there and have fun whether its is at sports, going out with friends etc.

      Although people were labelled that at school, I didn’t pay attention to it and played football, went out with friends etc around London.

    • Photo: Caroline Dalton

      Caroline Dalton answered on 13 Jun 2012:

      No, not at all. I wouldn’t say that most of the scientists I know fit this stereotype at all! Scientists are like anyone else-some are more social, some are less social, it depends more on the character of the person than the fact that they are a scientists. We don’t have to take on oath of nerdiness in order to work in a lab and in my lab there are lots of lovely people who all have a good social life 🙂

    • Photo: Alison Graham

      Alison Graham answered on 14 Jun 2012:

      It doesn’t bother me at all. Some of the coolest, funniest people I’ve met have been nerds!

    • Photo: Matt Gunther

      Matt Gunther answered on 14 Jun 2012:

      To be honest as soon as you go into science you never hear of that stereotype as the people who work around you are a really cool bunch of people. All scientists are most definitely like everyone else. I love to go out with friends, go to gigs, the cinema and take part in sport as does everyone else I know, to some extent or another.

      Although, unlike Artem, I have used quantum physics terms outside of context a lot :/

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