Ed West:

Truth and justice are synonymous, or related, in the human mind, and it is actually quite unusual to care about truth in a literal, scientific sense, irrespective of the social consequences. It is a characteristic found in nerds, and especially those on the autistic spectrum; only a small number of people obsess about the objective truth, and they often repulse the rest of society as a result. For most, a sense of pravda is more important, as is the approval of peers, and they also tend to question the intentions of people making dissenting claims. If you’re seeking knowledge which might disrupt social harmony, you’re probably a bad person with ulterior motives, and your arguments will be mentally screened out by people who don’t wish to expend energy on issues that don’t concern them.

…I’ve met Cofnas on a few occasions, at various conservative-aligned get-togethers. He’s a slight, affable, dryly amusing figure and – forgive the racial stereotyping – quite New York Jewish in his mannerisms. He could almost be played by a young Woody Allen, if Allen cast himself as a race scientist hated by society for his controversial views. He’s obviously one of those unusual people who can’t bear to hear what he regards as fictions being repeated for the sake of social harmony or group cohesion; a nerd, in other words.

I was never a cool or popular kid; until late adolescence I was always small for my age and I was never talkative. But I could “pass” as reasonably sociable and naturally athletic; I didn’t have the Dungeons & Dragons autistic awkwardness or the aptitude for science. As an adult, I wouldn’t say I’m obsessed with objective truth, but I do like to refer to myself as an orangutan among chimpanzees for precisely the reason West suggests: fictions being repeated for the sake of social harmony or group cohesion cause my lip to involuntarily curl in contempt. I just don’t feel the same need for social belonging, or at least nowhere near the same intensity of it. I’m not trying to suggest that there’s any moral valence to this. It doesn’t make me better, only different. I have no desire to be a crusader for truth; I don’t mind if people are quietly believing dumb or bizarre things to themselves. But I loathe the combination of aggressive proselytizing and self-back-patting that goes with social causes.

A nerd, though? Here I was thinking I was this version of Ogre:

Only to find I’m the later version of him: