I’m curios to see how many of us self identify as “nerds.” I’m purposely not defining nerd—feel free to leave a comment on how you define it. I’m going to do a likert scale (1 to 5). I really apologize if anyone is offended by this. I hate name calling and that is definitely not my intention.
I would definitely class myself as a nerd, in that I do unusual technical things for fun. However I think the term has been hijacked to mean someone very uncool or to mean someone who reads/watches comics and lots of sci-fi - that's not me.
I'm a geek then.
Being a nerd used to be uncool. Now, comics and sci-fi are mainstream, and some of those nerds think they're the cool ones.
Oh, how times have changed.
@ScienceBiker I laughed so hard I hurt myself. I’m a dork and wannabe geek. lol ?
While I am very much into horror, sci-fi, and comics/superheroes, I'm also very interested in football and was on some sports teams in high school, so I don't think I'm the "epitome" of nerdy.
That’s way cool. I’m a geek AND a Packers fan. Go Pack Go!!!
@CM1965 Not a Packers fan but okay.
I’d actually say I’m a full on geek. Semantics I suppose. DC, Chewie loving, Next-Gen, Bufffy girl. Oh there’s more. Much much more. lol
I'm more of a nerd than I am a geek. I think of the difference as being mainly that nerds focus on the cerebral, are more introverted and introspective, and are more "bookish" in nature, and geeks tend more toward gadgets and trends, are more extraverted and socially aware, and are more interested in pop culture. There's overlap, of course, and geeks and nerds dovetail traits, but generally that's how I think of it. I am, however, a full-stack web developer, so there's a lot of geek in the design aspect of the job, but also nerdiness in the database programming. And I'm into graphics and logo design, which puts me into some geeky areas, but I also like writing and math and the roots and origins of words. I'm a little odd in that I was an English major in college, with a minor in mathematics and unofficial concentrations in philosophy, computer science, and visual art/design. That's an unusual combination of interest and aptitude. But, still, I consider myself to be somewhat nerdy in general.
I like your outlook on life and share many traits but am not college trained and have read everything scientific and artsy. I am a USMC vet of the Korean era and am a life member of the MC League, the Women Marines Association and the DAV. I Don’t drive becuz my VA Drs warned me that I shouldn’t and my youngest daughter took it seriously and when I went in to renew my DL she signed me up for an Ohio ID card! (Bless her pointed little head!) so I sold my car and have been in the dumps recently but am pulling me out of that defeatist ideology. I love to camp, have been a volunteer naturalist w/the Lorain County Metro Parks, was on their Bd of Friends for 10 years or so and was President. I also have lived in Hawaii before it was a state, and put together the first volunteer program for the Oceanside Unified Scool
District, which led me into being selected Marine Wife of the Year for 1972. Lots more to share if you’re interested.
I'm a sexy nerd!
LOL. There is a song called "Sexy Nerd."
I have a NERD discount card that gives a better prices at our local electronics store.
My prescription eyeglasses tend to have accidents. One of the lenses in my "best" pair is glued in with superglue One of the arms is broken at the hinge, so it is taped on with electrical tape. Naturally, I put electrical tape on the other side to make sure they match.
Both of the arms on my "back-up" pair were broken, and I lost one, so I took the lenses out of an old pair of sunglasses and secured the lens frames to the sunglass frames. This repair also required a generous amount of electrical tape. I actually think they are pretty cool, sort of a 3-D look.When rude people stare and laugh at me, I inform them that they should pay attention to the styles of glasses that the CNN hosts are wearing. Soon they will all be sporting the 3-D look.
Does this qualify me as a nerd??
Lol!!
My interests vary from astrophysics to genetics with a smattering of readings from Asimov, Hawking, J.R.R.Tolkein, Don Lancaster, etc.
I like to read, & I like to know things.
Maybe this will help:
some 45 or so years ago, in metal shop class (middle School) while everyone else was making bookends & bookshelves, I designed & built my own working cloud chamber. This allowed me to view alpha & beta radiation particles once emitted from s source.
Voted for often. I relate to computers in such a way as to be able to figure out any software quickly. Hardware is mundane. Love Marvel and Renaissance fairs. I'm turned on by a fem or male who can use their brain ? ...yeah, a nerd
I worked in a big retail store in the electrical dept...we sold computers, camera's, tv's and all the white goods...and I was an advisor...I have always been into computers and camera's and my friends were the same so when I started working there was surprised that the collegues knew virtually nothing about the products they were selling to customers...I made many friends there because if they were looking for something or didnt know what they wanted I would give them good honest advice on the right product...I helped people when their computer went on the blink and if I could fix it I would...I retired from the store 2 years ago and sometimes pop in to get stuff and am told customers are still looking for my advice...I consider myself a normal person but everyone else thought I was a geek...I take it as a compliment..
I've been a nerd/geek for as long as I can remember and will continue to be so until the day I die.
Proud to be a nerd!! Life is so much more interesting when you have endless curiosity about the world and the universe.
I know what TARDIS means, what it is and who 'drives' it. I know who said "I'm giving it all she's got", what color a Vulcans blood is and what Klingons evolved from. I know what delta v is and why a falling object is measured in ft per second per second.
All kinds of bits of knowledge stuffed in my head helps explain things in a logical manner while still allowing for flights of whimsy and boundless imagination. I can soar amongst the stars, watch a supernova, experience a starbirth or drift in clouds of hydrogen in my head.
Being a nerd is a wonderful thing.
"A nerd is a person seen as overly intellectual, obsessive, or lacking social skills (introvert). Such a person may spend inordinate amounts of time on unpopular, little known, or non-mainstream activities, which are generally either highly technical, abstract, or relating to topics of fiction or fantasy, to the exclusion of more mainstream activities. Additionally, many so-called nerds are described as being shy, quirky, pedantic, and unattractive." Wikipedia
I had to look up the definition before answering this and another question arose: What is an intellectual? I would say in intellectual uses critical thinking and reason as guides and don't take things at face value. Okay, I fit that. Unfortunately, being on this site an inordinate amount of time puts me in the main part of the definition although it has helped overcome the shy part. However, weather can no longer be used as an excuse so I need to disengage from the 'nerdy' part and get involved with more or our areas "mainstream" activities.