That article made some good points, but on the other hand, I didn't like some of its implications.
The author mentions that he/she is proud of his dedication to various fandoms, proud of how much he knows about the works he likes, etc. And that's perfectly fine (if you believe pride is a legitimate emotion here). But then he goes on to imply that people who have more socially acceptable interests are "intellectually inferior." Simply declaring yourself to be a nerd and describing how you meticulously alphabetize your DVDs and spend your days watching TV and reading sci fi doesn't mean that you've established that you are highly intelligent or intellectual. Conversely, you can't point out that someone likes socializing and sports and say that they must be unintellectual.
Also, the author was right in that The Big Bang Theory's humor is based mostly on ridiculing nerdiness - but then, most humor is based on ridiculing something. In the early days of HPMOR, for example, there were shots at "stupid people" - if we are to judge a work of art on not offending anyone, HPMOR is no better than The Big Bang Theory. (After all, nerds can perhaps change their behaviors to avoid being ridiculed, but people of low intelligence cannot magically gain IQ points, so it's arguably much worse to make fun of stupid people.)
We don't judge a piece of humor on universal standards of kindness. If we like to think of ourselves as highly intellectual, we will raise our hackles at humor that mocks that. It's not like we, in turn, refrain from mocking those we perceive to be in the out-group.
"but then, most humor is based on ridiculing something" I would contest this.
I don't think HPMOR was shooting at "stupidity" so much as "irrationality"; rationality is, after all, a sort of martial art that everyone should be able to learn. Quirrell does take shots at "stupid people", but I think one of the parts of Harry's coming of age is him discovering that intelligence, as such, is overrated, and that it's better to be kind than to be sharp.
"It's not like we, in turn, refrain from mocking those we perceive ...
This is my first attempt at starting a casual conversation on LW where people don't have to worry about winning or losing points, and can just relax and have social fun together.
So, Big Bang Theory. That series got me wondering. It seems to be about "geeks", and not the basement-dwelling variety either; they're highly successful and accomplished professionals, each in their own field. One of them has been an astronaut, even. And yet, everything they ever accomplish amounts to absolutely nothing in terms of social recognition or even in terms of personal happiness. And the thing is, it doesn't even get better for their "normal" counterparts, who are just as miserable and petty.
Consider, then; how would being rationalists would affect the characters on this show? The writing of the show relies a lot on laughing at people rather than with them; would rationalist characters subvert that? And how would that rationalist outlook express itself given their personalities? (After all, notice how amazingly different from each other Yudkowsky, Hanson, and Alicorn are, just to name a few; they emphasize rather different things, and take different approaches to both truth-testing and problem-solving).
Note: this discussion does not need to be about rationalism. It can be a casual, normal discussion about the series. Relax and enjoy yourselves.
But the reason I brought up that series is that its characters are excellent examples of high intelligence hampered by immense irrationality. The apex of this is represented by Dr. Sheldon Cooper, who is, essentially, a complete fundamentalist over every single thing in his life; he applies this attitude to everything, right down to people's favorite flavor of pudding: Raj is "axiomatically wrong" to prefer tapioca, because the best pudding is chocolate. Period. This attitude makes him a far, far worse scientist than he thinks, as he refuses to even consider any criticism of his methods or results.