So basically, my hypothesis is, the reason intelligent people are so often socially clumsy is because it’s a facade, a self-imposed handicap they keep up because evolution has programmed us to have repulsion towards unfairly manipulating others. Because they can make others do anything, they choose to do nothing.
I think you’re on to something about a revulsion to manipulating others, but wrong that it comes from a sense of being able to make others do anything we want. I think most of us have never demonstrated that skill, though likely it is trainable, and through training we could get better than most.
Basically, many nerds are social pacifists.
We got that way for many reasons. We’re comparatively just not that into other people. Less interested in status. Not as good at reading other people, both naturally and as a result of lack of practice. And likely place a higher moral value on autonomy/fairness than others (Haidt confirms this for liberatrians/liberals, both vastly over represented groups here). Put that together, and social/status pacifism is a natural outcome, both as a natural preference and as a rationalization for our lack of skill and interest in social competition.
By the way, I think the massive downvoting is wholly inappropriate. Of course, I tend toward social pacifism, so I would.
I think you’re on to something about a revulsion to manipulating others, but wrong that it comes from a sense of being able to make others do anything we want. I think most of us have never demonstrated that skill, though likely it is trainable, and through training we could get better than most.
Basically, many nerds are social pacifists.
We got that way for many reasons. We’re comparatively just not that into other people. Less interested in status. Not as good at reading other people, both naturally and as a result of lack of practice. And likely place a higher moral value on autonomy/fairness than others (Haidt confirms this for liberatrians/liberals, both vastly over represented groups here). Put that together, and social/status pacifism is a natural outcome, both as a natural preference and as a rationalization for our lack of skill and interest in social competition.
By the way, I think the massive downvoting is wholly inappropriate. Of course, I tend toward social pacifism, so I would.