Does good physical shape make peers underestimate you as a programmer?

Question

It's no secret that programming is a profession that involves few physical activities. Brute force as well is not used (normally) by programmers to solve problems they encounter at work.

No wonder that some programmers disregard keeping their bodies in shape. And no wonder that treatment of fat, weak and unhealthy people is OK amongst programmers. That's how things should be in a healthy society.

However, I started noticing exactly the opposite. If a man or a woman is in a good shape*, works out a lot, he or she is treated with suspicion. It seems that for some people it's very hard to perceive well-built people as good programmers. And if you look like a square-shaped bruiser, you're likely to face even hostility!

Did you encounter such treatment? Is it common? How should it be handled?

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*for women there's also a problem when she's just beautiful, but that is a topic for other question

Answer 1

A lot of the programmers on our team are biking to work. So no problem with shape.

Besides biking gives you a clear mind.

Answer 2

That's rubbish !

Mens sana in corpore sano!
(A healthy mind in a healthy body!)

... the old Romans knew that ...
(but people like making excuses to themselves)

Answer 3

If you are EXCESSIVELY in shape I believe it can.

I am somewhere in the middle of the road, and I have many co-workers who are in better shape than I am that are very good, but I have not run across many folks with a bodybuilder physique that are good. The last few times the company has hired those sorts of people I recall even the fitness oriented folks making some comments that Mr Bodybuilder must spend all his time in the gym or be a dumb Jock or whatever.

Often they are right when you are talking about someone who obviously spends the majority of their out of work ours in a gym and dedicates a large part of their life to those activities.

I would not venture to guess if it is causational in one way or the other, but if you spend all your time in the gym you don't spend any of your own time improving your skills and that may results in you having less developed skills. Conversely, if your primary love is bodybuilding your primary love is not programming. Neither situation is ideal if you are looking for top-notch folks.

Having said that, if you have some balance in your activities I think the worst grief you should expect is people giving you a hard time if you don't want to go out for burgers at the end of the day, or get some pizza during an all-nighter.

Answer 4

This question is oddly phrased, but I gotta say that being 6'6" and about 200 pounds with no glasses, I don't look much like a stereotypical geek, and I have encountered this situation when meeting people for the first time.

Guess I need to work on that geek cred.

Answer 5

Why not Ask Ben Nadel if being a computer geek and being good physical shape are mutually exclusive?

I know programmers in good shape, bad shape, and every shape in between - it doesn't seem to affect their skills, and I've seen no indication of different perceptions/treatment/prejudices based on how they look.

I certainly do see a correlation that those who put effort into looking after themselves physically are also those that work on improving themselves mentally, and thus are better programmers - neither causing the other, but both coming from an overall aim of self-improvement.

But yeah, I don't know anyone who would say "he's rather bulky; must be a crap programmer" - instead, most programmers seem happy to let people demonstrate their level of abilities before they make judgement.

I suspect what's more likely is that there's a correlation between people who are prejudicial towards others and people that believe stereotypes represent an accurate 90% of whatever they are aimed at (rather than being more an exaggerated combination of maybe 30-50% of what it represents) - but that's a different issue, not really related to programming or physical shape.

Answer 6

Note that female or gay programmers do not mind working with hunky guys at all.

Ok, which one of these two guys looks like a real programmer? #1 or #2?

http://rangit.com/wp-content/media/2008/02/jeff%20atwood.jpg http://coldattic.info/pic/354067075677.jpg

As someone made in USSR who is not a fan of Putin or other Russian B.S., I imagine that you have developed pretty good bullshit filters by now. Try to keep them clean and well maintained.

The thing is that bullshit is a universal thing. You DO NOT look like a programmer, even if you become 10 kilos overweight. If you learn to talk smoothly, to shut up when needed, you can be fairly successful with women.

In monkey societies an alpha male is pretty much determined by the way he looks. We are partly monkeys, but it is more complicated than that - looks for a guy is not the only thing that matters. Now ... a typical programmer is not particularly social, and is not much of a player. People who have bonus non-technical skills, such as bubbly personality, good sense of humor, etc., can score a better position in life than just a mere code pounder (at least this is true in many rich western countries).

Those who remain programmers, are typically not very social, not particularly good flirts, not that successful with women. YOU are being perceived as a threat.

I imagine I will be down-voted very quickly, for I have just offended just about everyone on this site, probably including women. But, love it or hate it, that is pretty much how the world works. Better looking politicians score more votes. Better looking criminals are less likely to be convicted (that is the reason why a defendant is placed as far as possible from the jury in USA). The list goes on.

Life should not work like this, but it does. Our genes are hardly different from humans 10,000 years ago, and political correctness was not high on the priority list back then; survival and procreation was. We are desperately trying to mold our monkey genes to conform to the boxes of concrete that we have built around us.

Long story short: yes, male programmers can feel insecure around you. For the longest time they thought that they are better than other males because they are smarter. Now they have met someone who is just as smart but also better looking. This is hard to swallow.

What to do about it?

• Be grateful to the creator if one exists that you have been dealt a better card than some and then shut up about it.
• Work hard, make sure that those who would be jealous can see that you succeed through hard work and are not using looks as a launchpad.
• Do not wear flashy clothes to the interview, and do not wear flashy clothes to work. Try to blend in, look funny perhaps.
• DO NOT flirt with your co-worker's women. That includes wifes, sisters, mothers, grandmothers. On occasion play dumb around women if you have to, although some would disagree.
• If you feel like your co-workers are too jealous, then try to move perhaps? At the same time be humble and do not build up an ego about it. You were born smart and with certain physical traits, and others were born differently. Neither intellect, height or looks is something that you achieved through hard work; you were simply given that.
• Your social circle does not have to include every last co-worker. If you feel like playing Casanova on nights and weekends, then this is your life, your right. Just be smart about it - keep work & life reasonably separate.

Remember: being a smart, handsome programmer is a good problem to have. It beats being an aids, cholera-infested malnourished child in Africa.

P.S. You aren't into guys by any chance?