If you are a nerd who doesn't see much daylight, you should be ashamed. Not because you are a nerd, but the fact that your hobby is keeping you from making general interaction with people..
And Yes, dont be a fake either just for attention, drop the big ass glasses, and try being yourself for a change.
I agree with the views of this article; we have a lot more going for us nerds than we've had in the past. We get higher-paying jobs than the average person, thanks to some of our technical skills, and for the first time ever, we have an entire sect of certain nerds (bronies), that are openly welcome by the community, for the most part. We shouldn't be ashamed with what we do, because what we do could end up landing us somewhere that would have the average person fuming in jealousy. Just look at Rooster Teeth, at first they were just a bunch of nerds doing machinema and no real funding, but now they have ascended and have a partnership with Bungie, who do their animations for Red vs Blue. All in all, don't let the rest of the world try to take you down just because of what you like to do, collect, etc.
TeramonaConsulting Tea Specialist Best Coast! Icrontian
edited January 2013
Hi, there. I'm Terin of Icrontic fame. You might know me from such threads as "Terin's Tasty Teatime Treats", and "Bobby Miller Is Not A Beer." I have a lot of thoughts on this subject. Though, as I think them to myself, some are a little conflicting. I will attempt to map them out in the string of consciousness that follows. Read, don't read, but above all... don't get offended. This isn't directed at anyone specific.
What I think, is that nerdom shouldn't be treated with any kind of exclusivity. I was a drama geek in high school. I've always been very proud of my ability to read and write well, foregoing parties to instead stay home and write a story. I was never very popular, and was always classed as kind of a "nerd". Recently, my roommate referred to me as a "gamer", though I wouldn't have ever technically applied that term to myself. Also, I was a cheerleader. Also, I ran half marathons, and spent A LOT of time in the gym to train. I ran on the hamster wheel, I box jumped, I cycled... and bro? I lifted.
Now, what does any of that really say about me? Nothing. It tells you about my hobbies, but it doesn't tell you about my motivations. It doesn't tell you what kind of person I am. When we start treating a word like some kind of noble distinction, it becomes very very divisive... especially when it has as much to do with how a person is perceived as it does with how someone perceives themselves (i.e. the famed "you're not a hipster if you say you are, but you are if you say you're not" argument).
Am I a nerd? I don't know. But I do know it's conversations like this that make me feel inherently excluded... in a forum where I have otherwise come to feel very comfortable. I don't know if I'm a gamer now, I just know that I enjoy playing games. I don't know if I'm a hipster because I have thick plastic glasses, or I wear scarves in what some people might consider warm weather, or because I obsessively collect tea memorabilia. I also don't particularly care. It's subjective, and everyone is going to have a different opinion.
So, I mean, I say let them wear their big fake glasses. Let Big Bang Theory cater to people who only get one side of the whole equation. Let them. Because if you're really being true to yourself... what do you care? It only becomes a problem if you think these things threaten your own identity. If you know who you are outside the context of what everyone else might think or say you are, then you don't need titles.
I think the article did a good job of pointing out that it's dumb to be ashamed of being a nerd anymore. I really don't think that most people are. I admit that I still feel some trepidation about talking about nerdy things in some company, but I try to do my best to ignore it. The main issue is with older generations; a lot of them simply do not understand typically nerdy things on a fundamental level. And then of course you have my parents, but that's an entirely different issue. *Rolls eyes*
My main issue with the PSA, which @Teramona (Terry) touched on a little, is the way it puts down the girl nerd in the video; really, the way that nerd culture can be so exclusive in general. The girl in the video is set up to sound like she's fake and really has no idea what she's talking about, but nothing she actually does shows that. I understand the reason why there's a desire to set up barriers between who is a nerd and who isn't, considering that some of us went through a lot of bullying as kids because of our love of nerdy things, but there's really no way to tell who has and who hasn't suffered the nerd hate without walking in their shoes.
I see this nerd outrage come down the most on girls; specifically, pretty girls at cons. Yes, there are pretty girls who wear costumes just to get attention; that is and has always been true. But there are also plenty of pretty girls (wearing glasses) who know exactly what they're talking about and what they're doing-- and the process by which one figures out if someone is a "fake" nerd or a "real" nerd is often more damaging to the real nerds than to the fake ones.
None of us should be ashamed to be nerds, and none of us should have to defend our nerd cred either. I'm tired of being told that I'm not a nerd because of X, Y and Z. Yes, I know that I've jokingly told people before that they aren't gamers for whatever reason (I believe I started a thread once called "you can't call yourself a gamer if...." alleging that you weren't a gamer if you hadn't played the HL2 series) but I honestly did it more to start discussion that to really claim that people aren't gamers. I am told quite seriously all the time that I can't really be a nerd. (But if I did bother any of you with that post I do apologize. But go play HL2. Srs).
Growing up in the 80's being a nerd meant a bunch of kid's built a backpack wall at the lunch table to keep your cooties off of them. We have come a long way baby!
Growing up in the 80's being a nerd meant a bunch of kid's built a backpack wall at the lunch table to keep your cooties off of them. We have come a long way baby!
Or you ate alone. :/
Although to be fair, back then I was really more of a dork than a nerd.
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TeramonaConsulting Tea Specialist Best Coast! Icrontian
I ate lunch with my best friend, and a basketball hoop that we lovingly referred to as "Pole." I often attribute human feelings to inanimate objects. The scene in castaway when Wilson gets lost rips me apart inside.
I ate lunch with my best friend, and a basketball hoop that we lovingly referred to as "Pole." I often attribute human feelings to inanimate objects. The scene in castaway when Wilson gets lost rips me apart inside.
...because people can connect with anything. We can sympathize with a pencil, we can forgive a shark, and we can give Ben Affleck an Academy Award for Screenwriting. People can find the good in just about anything except themselves.
Comments
And Yes, dont be a fake either just for attention, drop the big ass glasses, and try being yourself for a change.
Thank you..
What I think, is that nerdom shouldn't be treated with any kind of exclusivity. I was a drama geek in high school. I've always been very proud of my ability to read and write well, foregoing parties to instead stay home and write a story. I was never very popular, and was always classed as kind of a "nerd". Recently, my roommate referred to me as a "gamer", though I wouldn't have ever technically applied that term to myself. Also, I was a cheerleader. Also, I ran half marathons, and spent A LOT of time in the gym to train. I ran on the hamster wheel, I box jumped, I cycled... and bro? I lifted.
Now, what does any of that really say about me? Nothing. It tells you about my hobbies, but it doesn't tell you about my motivations. It doesn't tell you what kind of person I am. When we start treating a word like some kind of noble distinction, it becomes very very divisive... especially when it has as much to do with how a person is perceived as it does with how someone perceives themselves (i.e. the famed "you're not a hipster if you say you are, but you are if you say you're not" argument).
Am I a nerd? I don't know. But I do know it's conversations like this that make me feel inherently excluded... in a forum where I have otherwise come to feel very comfortable. I don't know if I'm a gamer now, I just know that I enjoy playing games. I don't know if I'm a hipster because I have thick plastic glasses, or I wear scarves in what some people might consider warm weather, or because I obsessively collect tea memorabilia. I also don't particularly care. It's subjective, and everyone is going to have a different opinion.
So, I mean, I say let them wear their big fake glasses. Let Big Bang Theory cater to people who only get one side of the whole equation. Let them. Because if you're really being true to yourself... what do you care? It only becomes a problem if you think these things threaten your own identity. If you know who you are outside the context of what everyone else might think or say you are, then you don't need titles.
My main issue with the PSA, which @Teramona (Terry) touched on a little, is the way it puts down the girl nerd in the video; really, the way that nerd culture can be so exclusive in general. The girl in the video is set up to sound like she's fake and really has no idea what she's talking about, but nothing she actually does shows that. I understand the reason why there's a desire to set up barriers between who is a nerd and who isn't, considering that some of us went through a lot of bullying as kids because of our love of nerdy things, but there's really no way to tell who has and who hasn't suffered the nerd hate without walking in their shoes.
I see this nerd outrage come down the most on girls; specifically, pretty girls at cons. Yes, there are pretty girls who wear costumes just to get attention; that is and has always been true. But there are also plenty of pretty girls (wearing glasses) who know exactly what they're talking about and what they're doing-- and the process by which one figures out if someone is a "fake" nerd or a "real" nerd is often more damaging to the real nerds than to the fake ones.
None of us should be ashamed to be nerds, and none of us should have to defend our nerd cred either. I'm tired of being told that I'm not a nerd because of X, Y and Z. Yes, I know that I've jokingly told people before that they aren't gamers for whatever reason (I believe I started a thread once called "you can't call yourself a gamer if...." alleging that you weren't a gamer if you hadn't played the HL2 series) but I honestly did it more to start discussion that to really claim that people aren't gamers. I am told quite seriously all the time that I can't really be a nerd. (But if I did bother any of you with that post I do apologize. But go play HL2. Srs).
I'M A NERD BITCHES, DEAL WITH IT.
Although to be fair, back then I was really more of a dork than a nerd.
...because people can connect with anything. We can sympathize with a pencil, we can forgive a shark, and we can give Ben Affleck an Academy Award for Screenwriting. People can find the good in just about anything except themselves.
#sixseasonsandamovie