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From: rick@uwmacc.UUCP (the absurdist)
Newsgroups: net.singles
Subject: Inferiority Complex
Message-ID: <574@uwmacc.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 17-Dec-84 01:00:09 EST
Article-I.D.: uwmacc.574
Posted: Mon Dec 17 01:00:09 1984
Date-Received: Tue, 18-Dec-84 02:41:05 EST
Distribution: net
Organization: UWisconsin-Madison Academic Comp Center
Lines: 36

[ "When they kick at your front line, how you gonna go?
   Mangled in the software, or waiting in death row?"]

	There's been a free-floating discussion on "net.mensa" buzzing
its way through general, misc, news.groups, etc.  I don't want to
start it up here.  However, a comment made about mensa, that at
least you could meet people who weren't ashamed of their intelligence,
rang very  true.
	In the last 3 days, three different friends have made comments that
are a variant on "But I'm not all that bright anyway."  
	
	One of them speaks Dutch, Italian, Spanish, and German.
	One is a completing a Civil Engineering degree here (not a wimp
degree) while working part-time.
	One is majoring in CS in what is generally considered to be a very
tough program.

	Have you guessed yet?  All three of these people are female.
None is naive about chauvinistic attitudes.  Still, they put 
themselves down in a way that I can't imagine a man doing if
he could claim similar accomplishments.  It bugs me, both 
because its generally unpleasant to have your friends believe
untrue things about themselves, and because it implies that
somehow, they believe I won't like them as much if they don't
play dumb.
	Never mind the people who like big breasts in a SO.  I'd settle
for a ego big enough to match the person's accomplishments.

-- 
"And we'll have some kids, they won't be a bother
 as long as they're just as dumb as their father."  -- The Stupid Song
		by Peter and Lou Berryman

Rick Keir -- MicroComputer Information Center, MACC
1210 West Dayton St/U Wisconsin Madison/Mad WI 53706
{allegra, ihnp4, seismo}!uwvax!uwmacc!rick