What Are the Most Common Stereotypes of Physicists?

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The discussion centers on the stereotypes associated with physicists, highlighting both positive and negative perceptions. Participants share their experiences of how others often misunderstand the nature of their work, leading to misconceptions about what physicists actually do. Common stereotypes include the notion that physicists are socially awkward or overly intellectual. The conversation also touches on whether there are any justified generalizations about physicists based on personal observations. However, there is a cautionary note regarding the sensitivity of discussing stereotypes, as previous attempts to explore this topic have led to contentious debates. Overall, the dialogue aims to explore the gap between public perception and the reality of being a physicist while maintaining a light-hearted tone.
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Please take below as a light-hearted topic suitable for the lounge area, I most certainly do not wish that it gets out of hand.

Part I
How often do you encounter people harbouring various stereotypes of physicists, either good or bad? Is there often a discrepancy between what people think you do for a living, and what you actually do? What are some of the most common misconception laypeople have when you tell them you are a physicist?

Part II
What about you, what are your thoughts? Do you, yourself, notice any common traits among your physicist colleagues (and yourself)? Are there any generalisations of physicists that (in your experience) might be justified?

(Motivation for this topic)
In a show The Big Bang Theory, three physicists (+ 1 engineer) are portrayed as hyper-smart folks who are completely lacking people skills. While this is clearly an exaggeration, it made me wonder (due to its popularity) how strongly are people's opinion of physicists influenced by media, news articles, etc.
 
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Seems on topic:
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(I'm not one, so I wouldn't actually know)
 

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The last N times we tried this thread, particulrly Part II, it did not end well. No better than if we started a thread "stereotypes of women", "stereotypes of Jews", "stereotypes of Chinese" would.
 
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