Slovenly Looking Losers

From Pravda: Young men unwilling to become mathematicians because they are slovenly looking losers.

Young men try to avoid studying mathematical disciplines and using mathematical skills due to unfavorable image of mathematicians, the British Economic and Social Research Council suggested. It turns out that schoolchildren and students share the following idea of the average mathematician: they are unworldly, slovenly and unpopular with women.

Interestingly, Excel users share those same traits.

Research suggested that most students and graduates associate a mathematician with an old middle-class white man who is obsessed by his science, devoid of most social skills and love life. Besides, their notion of mathematics is distorted and restricted to elementary arithmetic.

"Given this narrow and negative stereotype of a mathematician, it's no wonder that few youths want go on studying this subject," said Mendick.

Note: The slovenly looking loser shown here (taken from the article) is Grigory Perelman.