Hey nerds, guess what? Being smart is no longer an excuse for being fat. The "ripsters" thing Nick Sylvester made up comes to terrifying life in today's Observer, where Doree Shafrir investigates tall tales of New York boys who read contemporary fiction but secretly have defined abdominal muscles. These literary Lotharios are real, and they're totally embarrassed about how they look good shirtless:


"You don't want to be seen as trying too hard or being vain or being someone who cares about what they look like," a magazine editor says. "Because of the exertion and effort, it implies caring too much in a way that isn't cool." The editor is so ashamed of his uncool hotness that he refused to be named.

The article gives everyone — flabby nerds, dumb meatheads and bright athletes alike — reason to feel insecure about their fitness levels, intelligence and lack of ironic distance, respectively. But it's a boon for ladies who wish to pretend that their good-looking boyfriend is smart because he wears glasses. This city does great things for people. [NYO]