Ok, every morning when I'm at home the news tends to be on. BBC Breakfast in particular. At the weekend, there's usually a feature when people who often have nothing better to do with their time write in about how outraged some programme has made them. I tend to find these hilarious, but this morning I fear I may have temporarily joined their little club.
There was a feature on the news about chess players. There were so many things wrong with the discussion, I honestly don't know where to start. The feature itself was about a 'Scandinavian' (I didn't catch his exact nationality - even if it was mentioned) chess player (I didn't catch his name) who had become a champion. He was also 'sexy' and rich. It was such an alien concept to the BBC news readers that someone with a highly specialised interest could be not only normal, but successful! And attractive! He wasn't a nerd!
When you look at this, it's all a little ridiculous. The news readers were saying how strange it was to have a 'normal' person with a 'nerdy' interest. There was a discussion about how weird nerds are. They're not like us. They're all a bit weird. What really outraged me though, was when they came up with some flippant comments about autism. 'Chess players are all a bit autistic. They're a bit on the spectrum' (read this in your most condescending voice to get the full effect). Now, I have studied psychology for long enough to feel I can educate you: playing chess (or having a 'nerdy' interest in general) does NOT mean you have autism. It just doesn't. Go check the DSM. You will not find 'chess-playing' listed as one of the criteria for diagnosis.
Sure, in autism, you can have highly specialised interests - but this alone does not mean that you have autism. It means you are interested in something. That's it. In addition, the way the news readers were speaking about this issue can clearly contribute to the stigma that still surrounds mental health. You might as well have taken a person with autism, put them on a pedestal in the BBC studio, pointed at them with a stick and said 'this one's a bit weird'. It's just not acceptable.
On the other hand, I think this could reflect a general attitude towards people who engage in so-called 'intellectual' pursuits. Playing chess is an unusual hobby, I can accept that. My interests of opera and neuroscience are also unusual. However, it's one thing to say someone has an unusual interest, and another to imply that having these interests makes you at least a bit socially awkward, and at worst 'a bit on the spectrum'.
I consider myself to be a nerd. I was bullied horribly for this fact when I was in school. Now I am in university, I celebrate this fact (and I am hoping to base an entire career around it). I do not consider myself to be socially awkward. I'm introverted, yes, but I can engage with people normally. Like the 'other people' who don't play chess and who aren't 'nerds'. I'm not 'a bit on the spectrum'. I have nerdy interests and I think I am relatively intelligent. According to the BBC, I should therefore be an ugly, unsuccessful weirdo who doesn't go out and who doesn't interact with anyone for weeks at a time. I'll let you make your own minds up on these particular claims. Be nice.
I have never understood why people take this attitude towards 'nerds' or intelligence. If you fit either category, then clearly there is something fundamentally wrong with you. Maybe it's your looks - clearly, nerds are all ugly with bad skin, bad teeth and glasses that have been broken several hundred times from the bigger, stronger, normal kids (picture the stereotype if you will). Maybe it's the way you interact with people - you're completely antisocial, will not interact with people for weeks at a time and rarely leave your room. Clearly, these ideas are preposterous, and I am exaggerating a little. The BBC's claim that nerdiness equates to autism is beyond all of these stereotypes, and steps over the line in my opinion. If we're to get rid of these ideas, then the media has to stop saying such stupid comments.
I for one sympathise with the chess player. He's made a lot of money and he's relatively attractive - I don't see why this has to be such a crazy idea. Remember, we nerds aren't all weirdos. Nerds are people, too.
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