Not enough sunlight? That's my guess. It's correlated with not going out (to eat), not playing any sports etc etc...
Then again, the sqvirrel could be described as such and he's a classicist (still pretty nerdy, granted). But he's scrawny cos his dad is scrawny. Undernourished he doesn't really look. He can cook!
Can't help but chime in with the counterexample: the mathematician I went to college with who worked out every day, sprained an ankle, and fashioned a longbow out of one of his crutches. It was fun to shoot, while it lasted (about 6 or 7 pulls, I think).
Not enough sunlight? That's my guess. It's correlated with not going out (to eat), not playing any sports etc etc...
ReplyDeleteThen again, the sqvirrel could be described as such and he's a classicist (still pretty nerdy, granted). But he's scrawny cos his dad is scrawny. Undernourished he doesn't really look. He can cook!
Can't help but chime in with the counterexample: the mathematician I went to college with who worked out every day, sprained an ankle, and fashioned a longbow out of one of his crutches. It was fun to shoot, while it lasted (about 6 or 7 pulls, I think).
ReplyDeleteGood heavens. I hadn't thought of it, but the only two mathematicians I know are skinny almost to the point of being cachetic.
ReplyDeleteNobody has ever accused me of being scrawny or undernourished. Describes my advisor to a T, though.
ReplyDeleteMaybe you'll end up that way eventually, usjogger. It might take a certain amount of time in the field before it happens :)
ReplyDeleteI think we need a well-designed study to see, at least, whether ON AVERAGE the mathematician is scrawnier than his or her non-mathematical colleagues.
My answer: yes. Every mathematician I know, at least.
ReplyDeleteDo astrophysicists that teach maths count? Or are they just pretending... Because I know some fairly scrawny ones of those too...
ReplyDeleteI know I'm commenting on something from ages ago. Apologies for that.
ReplyDeleteThat said: I'm a mathematician. I would be in high demand back in the times where girth was an evolutionary selector connected to personal riches.