> I figured it out. They're a uniform.
I think it's just a way of showing off. Case in point:
http://stackoverflow.com/questions/12532552/what-part-of-mil...
The guy has no idea what the notation means by still wants to wear the t-shirt.
I think it's just a way of showing off. Case in point:
http://stackoverflow.com/questions/12532552/what-part-of-mil...
The guy has no idea what the notation means by still wants to wear the t-shirt.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Signalling_theory
Your Star Wars or Hindley-Milner t-shirt tells people who see it that you're a particular kind of person. This encourages people who are like you to approach you, because it signals that you're safe -- you're "one of us." Likewise, it discourages those who are unlike you from doing the same, sparing you from having conversations with people you find boring.
If you work in a community where high intelligence is seen as socially valuable -- i.e., where a way the high-status individuals distinguish themselves from the rest is by highlighting their intelligence -- like tech, it's not surprising that you'd want clothing that would signal that you are a high-intelligence person, even if you aren't one. It's an attempt to get your foot in the door of social groups that would otherwise be closed to you, by camouflaging yourself as "one of us."
I'd read that SO post again, you seem to have misunderstood.
Oh and yeah. I wanted the t-shirt so other hackers would know I was part of their group. Because I was a girl I felt it wasn't obvious.