Why Are Physicists Shy & Antisocial?

[Kholdstare]

In all my time there I don't remember meeting a single physicist...clearly shy to the point of hiding

University of Sussex guy owned! haha

 

[Illuminerdi]

There are a lot of stereotypes that aren't really true, and I believe this to be one of them. What I would actually anticipate is that just the opposite is actually true and that this falls into the same category as "why are smart people unattractive/socially inept/very thin?," etc."

Instead ask, though, "Why do I THINK physicists are shy?" or "Why does SOCIETY think physicists are shy?" You could say that the myth is perpetuated by pop culture (Big Bang Theory, etc.), or maybe you could find a few high profile examples that were falsely generalized. Newton, for example.

Maybe you could even ask "Are people with asperger's syndrome more drawn to physics than the general population?"