Well, DUH. Especially if by "metal" you mean bands like Queen:

Researchers questioned more than 1,000 members of the National Academy for Gifted and Talented Youth, whose members rank among the brightest five percent of youngsters in Britain.

"There is a perception of gifted and talented students as being into classical music and spending a lot of time reading.

"I think that is an inaccurate stereotype," Stuart Cadwallader, a University of Warwick psychologist who is presenting the findings to the British Psychological Society Wednesday, told the Daily Telegraph.

"We are looking at a group with lower than average self-esteem that does not feel quite as well adjusted.

"They feel more stressed out and turn to heavy metal as a way of relieving that stress."

Cadwallader added that heavy metal fans often appreciate the "complex and sometimes political themes" of the music.

"It has a tendency to worry adults a bit but I think it's just a cathartic thing," he said.

"It does not indicate problems."

Many of heavy metal's biggest stars are closet geeks -- Brian May, guitarist with Queen, is currently finishing a doctorate in astrophysics, while Iron Maiden star Bruce Dickinson is a history graduate, international fencer and qualified commercial pilot.

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1 I'd be more apt to believe this if they used a larger sample size and from other schools.

Posted by: Contagion at March 21, 2007 04:55 PM (T4WRc)

2 This doesn't surprise me at all. My smartest friends, and I know some REALLY frickin' scary smart people, all listen to the hard stuff. It is a good release.

Posted by: Bou at March 21, 2007 07:08 PM (PQFHD)

3 I wouldn't exactly classify Queen as metal. But then again, practically all musical category labelling like that is pretentious bullshit.

Posted by: Dave J at March 21, 2007 09:05 PM (PEbS4)

4 UP THE IRONS!

Posted by: jimmyb at March 22, 2007 02:25 AM (4ki9u)

5 I am a stereotypical nerd, geek, etc., in that I do love to read and listen to symphony. I love the peace of the music, without the clutter of words. Hey, I have enough voices in my head without being bombarded by the ones blaring from my radio.

Posted by: Thomas Warlock at March 22, 2007 07:41 PM (dzxwM)

6 Nerds have made many useful contributions to society. Some noted nerds include the Talking Heads' David Byrne, physicist Steven Hawking, and Supreme Court Justice David Souter. Awwww - not Souter!

Posted by: Nightfly at March 23, 2007 12:57 AM (w0PAh)

7 Hello. My name is Dogette and I'm a Geek. My favorite music has always been "metal" or hard rock or whatever they're calling the more intense stuff this week.

Posted by: dogette at March 23, 2007 07:10 AM (q/UVc)

8 The fact is, aside from a handful scary guys like Pete Steele from Type O Negative, most metal musicians are former AV and/or band geeks in high school, and tend to be short and skinny. I ran with a metal crowd, and none of us were athletes, nor were we burners or delinquents. We were the kids who skipped dances and listened to the brand new Iron Maiden album while drinking a couple of Dad's beers. BTW, I'm 41 and still a rabid metalhead. SLAYER!

Posted by: PaleoMedic at March 23, 2007 10:58 AM (xirX/)

9 Back in the day, we geeks listened to RUSH! (Hell, yeah!) Brian May is one of my favorite guitarists. I'm such a geek to this day, I can go from Sarah Brightman to Cradle of Filth without flinching. That might be a sign of mental illness, but I'll ignore it and hope it goes away

Posted by: Brian the sailor at March 24, 2007 08:14 AM (JIAXL)

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Everyone else has done this one, guess it's my turn...

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I am currently #1 on Google for "i support communism"...

...for a post entitled "Don't support Communism".

And it's not a googlebomb.

Yay me!

Oh, and BTW, Communism sucks.  Big Ugly Donkey Balls.  That is all.

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In honor of International Eat an Animal for Peta day, have some quizzes which have nothing to do with it, except that in the bible they killed an awful lot of animals.... mostly for food.  Funny that.

Anyway, here they are:

Old Testament

New Testament

Similar to the EU and 50 states quizzes posted below. 

Hint: In the OT game, add a space to the end of 3 letter words, and in BOTH games, 1st and 2nd books are denoted I and II (that's the letter i) at the FRONT of the name.  Good luck!

YAY! to Rachel, who made the bible ones!

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Shamelessly copied from Rachel and Mandy.....

Create your own Friend Quiz here

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Here's the EU game!  Slightly less challenging, there are only 27 in 10 minutes!

h/t BethC

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Go here, and see how many of the 50 United States you can name in 10:00.

I made it with 4:33 left.  Poor Iowa.  Iowa was last.

h/t Jay

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One more....

Your Vampire Name Is...

High Priestess of Whores

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You Are an Irish Coffee

At your best, you are: wild, spontaneous, and outgoing At your worst, you are: too extreme and reckless You drink coffee when: you want to keep drinking booze Your caffeine addiction level: low

You Are a Candy Heart

You're definitely a pro when it comes to romance - and you have great dating etiquette. Plus you probably smell and taste pretty darn good.

Your SAT Score of 1530 Means:

You Scored Higher Than Howard Stern You Scored Higher Than George W. Bush You Scored Higher Than Al Gore You Scored Higher Than David Duchovny You Scored Higher Than Natalie Portman You Scored Lower Than Bill Gates Your IQ is most likely in the 140-150 range Equivalent ACT score: 34 Schools that Fit Your SAT Score: California Institute of Technology Stanford University Princeton University Yale University Harvard University

You Are Bert

Extremely serious and a little eccentric, people find you loveable - even if you don't love them! You are usually feeling: Logical - you rarely let your emotions rule you You are famous for: Being smart, a total neat freak, and maybe just a little evil How you life your life: With passion, even if your odd passions (like bottle caps and pigeons) are baffling to others

You Should Drive a DeLorean

You don't take yourself too seriously, and you prefer a fun, unusual car... like this Back to the Future gem!

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You Are 52% Politically Radical

You've got some radical viewpoints, but you aren't completely nuts. You're more of a visionary than a radical.

Your 1996 Theme Song Is: Breakfast at Tiffany's by Deep Blue Something

And I said "What about Breakfast at Tiffany's?" She said, "I think I remember the film, And as I recall, I think, we both kinda liked it." And I said, "Well, that's the one thing we've got."

You Are Scooter

Brainy and knowledgable, you are the perfect sidekick. You're always willing to lend a helping hand. In any big event or party, you're the one who keeps things going. "15 seconds to showtime!"

You Are Pork

You like to think you're the other white meat, but many people don't want anything to do with you. You probably smoke. And it's likely that no body part of yours is off limits.

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