I guess it kinda bugs me...
It seems like people think of technical skills as the saving grace of the socially inept.
Really, this is meaningless. There are plenty of people out there, alone and unhappy, who couldn't code to save their life. On the other hand, the opposite exists. I'm in comp sci, read slashdot, use linux, etc; and I'm not really unhappy, I have friends, I have had a girlfriend. I still identify, however, to some extent, with geek.
It started, I think, before hi-tech became trendy. A lot of people actually *were* marginalized because of their technological obsession. This ended up being a self-fullfiling stereotype. People who didn't have friends, but were fairly intelligent were attracted to this apparent clique where they would be welcomed and introduced to the exciting and growing world of hi-tech.
So here we are, the modern age, where those with technical skills will have exponentially increasing influence and there is still a holdover of people believing these skills are the product of some faustian bargain. You must sacrafice your social life in return for power over machines? It just doesn't work that way. There is still some hostility toward techies, but it's quickly disappearing.
This, of course, is just my
opinion. I'd be interested in hearing
other perspectives.