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Nerds: Why must we be so cruel to each other?
- Thread starter ReturnOfTheRAT
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Don't see how that needs to be a culture. I like Space Ghost. I talk to other people who like Space Ghost, but I don't go around looking for 'Coastal heads' or something. It's dumb to label specific activities as nerdy. They should all be individual things that are enjoyed on their own individual basis instead of joining a group and expecting certain things.
This is actually part of a bigger problem to me personally as a gamer. With the rise of Video games reaching millions of people, and budgets of games growing to the point where you have to get these types of sales, or your favorite publisher goes out of business...
This generation has delivered some good games, but it's also been a downfall for genres and types of games that I grew up loving games for. This is because certain types of games have been made to cater to these "normal" people now. Look at FFXIII, the game had other problems to be sure, but the focus to make the once classic series more accessible, and for lack of a better term "casual", it was a shell of what the franchise once was. They're less about improving mechanics, and giving the player more control. They're more about making games prettier, and taking away control so that "normal" people can play it like a roller coaster.
Millions of sales don't happen when geeks only buy a game. It's because the majority of sales now come from "normal" people. That also makes people like her seem like a threat I think. She looks normal, and geeks could look at her and think she's just one of those "normal" people who happened to pick up a game and thought it was rad.
What club? What community?
culture is the simplest agreed upon term. I don't see a reason to pretend that there isn't a group of people who self identify strongly with a certain set of common interests. It doesn't matter if they SHOULD be like that, they are. So yeah, calling it a culture is just simpler.
D
Deleted member 17706
Unconfirmed Member
Are you sure that's not just anonymous people on the Internet being shitty? Like how every guy will inevitably be called "gay" as a derogatory term in a YouTube video if he's white, or "gay" as well as some racial slurs if he's not white?
In real life day-to-day interactions with like-minded people, do you find that you aren't accepted if you reveal your so-called nerdy hobbies?
I know you meant just you, but I hope we don't start lumping science and video games together, lol.
The last thing I think when I see someone playing video games is "he must be really into science, as well." LOL!
SolarPowered
Member
Nerds are people and being cruel to one another is one of the things people do best.
It's that simple.
It's that simple.
Those people don't get to NOT be racist just because they are anonymous people on the internet being shitty. I mean, it doesn't invalidate the fact that they belong to a certain loose culture or belief system, even if it's just "pathetic trolls".
The only one who cares if a cute girl is NOT really into Mario Kart is a geek and we see it in threads here on GAF not directed immediately at said targets. I think it's easy to guess that someone who is that upset about it is PROBABLY a geek. I hope geeks will forgive us for mislabeling some edge cases.
Generally, I agree with you, but I think an exception needs to be made for "nerd culture".
There is a high level of empathy between nerds of various interests, which makes it easy for them to move from one hobby to another. For example, you have a C++ nerd and and a PHP nerd, and both languages are pretty far removed from each other. But you can also put them under an umbrella group, Programming nerds. It's much easier to get into a new language when Programming nerds "recognize" each other (even if they use different languages and ignoring distro wars for a moment) and go out of their way to help out. The internet has allowed such connections to flourish, leading to the creation of an all encompassing "nerd culture".
MtG is pretty fucking bad at this, goddam.
Ironically, D&D seems to be much more accepting of girls, at least, in my limited experience.
There is only one way for us to know for sure...
I'm kidding, but c'mon, it was too stupid in this context to NOT say... meanwhile I' ve ruined the joke 
I hate nerds.
That looks like a real nerd.
Probably a vegan too and probably doesn't own a TV
Male gaze.
Nothing ironic about it.
D&D is the most social of nerdy hobbies IMO. It literally revolves around throwing small parties and working as a team with friends to create a fun time. It has always been friendly to ladies.
I play D&D and took a (pathetic half-hearted) run at being a pro MtG player and I find your observations to be 100% correct
D&D is also one of those things that I think has remained purely a nerd activity. It's not like D&D boomed in a big way, and we started seeing millions of people playing D&D. If you had a group playing together who knew what they were doing, that's enough. With other geek cultures like gaming, it's easier to fake it I think.
Femmeworth
Banned
lolwrestlingnerd
PigSpeakers
Member
Real talk: I sometimes DO wish I was a woman. Not in a very genuine way, but I'd like to spend a month as a lesbian or something. /overshare
I know what you mean, I'd be curious to see things from the other side...but losing my penis would freak me the fuck out! lol
PigSpeakers
Member
I recently watched a Korean drama where the main guy and the main girl switched bodies. The first thing I would do if I switched with a girl would be to go look at myself in the mirror naked.
Devolution
Member
Certain spheres are still boy's clubs in which sexism (as well as sometimes homophobia) is not really challenged and some people like it that way. The more integrated it gets, the more they feel they "lose."
...It's not. That's just the human body. Any further zoom toward her face would have felt closed in and awkward. Not to mention, she's talking about why her chest shouldn't matter, so why should she go out of her way to hide it in the otherwise comfortable shot?
PezDispenser
Banned
Cool, I'm not the only one who hates this!
There's a stereotype of gaming and various geek cultures perceived by themselves and by society at large, and that is that they're basement-dwelling socially awkward overweight male losers. From my point of view, and even people on this board, it isn't that far off the mark. I mean how many of us are male. So when a woman enters the picture there's a level of dissonance that she doesn't belong there and it has to be explained somehow other than that she actually enjoys what is generally a male dominated activity. Cynical people will generally be wary and assume she's faking it and pandering to achieve some benefit to herself. And some of those cynical people will outright attack her in writing online. Where am I going with this? Buy Super Monkey Ball 3D by Sega, the company that brought you such classics like Sonic the Hedgehog, Vectorman, and Virtua Cop 2!
I seriously lost my train of thought.
Nah, unlike those other nerds, an enlightened individual such as myself would never be sexist.
The Anti-Monitor
Banned
It's weird, because I know lots of geeks in real life and only two behave like the stereotypical nerds, but it seems like on the Internet nerds want to fulfill the stereotype.
Manabanana
Member
That sphere is called Earth.
Then we should have coffee together sometime.
Speaking as a Computer Science major I'd love to see more Women in my courses and related activities.
TUROK
Member
I am a massive nerd and I can vouch for this. I don't hate women, though.
It's pretty shitty that women are subjected to this kind of treatment, but at the same time, any girl who's good looking and has nerdy interests (or pretends to) is going to get much more attention than a guy by default. Anyone remember that braindead girl who took like 20 minutes to complete the first room in Portal? She was (is?) a very popular vlogger.
Either way, it's pretty shitty and I do feel sorry for her and anyone else going to something similar.
Sgt.Pepper
Banned
Every subculture has its own fair of mean spirited people.
Music? Check. Films? Check. Corporations? Check. It goes on, dunno why some think this is exclusive to nerds.
It does suck, however.
Music? Check. Films? Check. Corporations? Check. It goes on, dunno why some think this is exclusive to nerds.
It does suck, however.
BocoDragon
or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Realize This Assgrab is Delicious
Nerds are kind of nitpicky by nature. Naturally we nitpick others.
"WORST. FEMALE NERD. EVER."
"WORST. FEMALE NERD. EVER."
Devolution
Member
Nerds and anon are their own special kind of vicious. Be vocal and a woman, it's a target on your back.
Trent Strong
Banned
She's a women.
Femmeworth
Banned
This post would work "better" if you still had your Nisemonogatari avatar.
TUROK
Member
She's a weemons.
I would hazard a guess that their "moral deficiency" is simply human jealousy. Social outcasts can't stand when socially accepted pretty people worm into their little niche in society. As they see it, their communities, in addition to shared interests, was in a sense unified by what they saw as rejection from society as a whole. So they end up building an identity around it, and when someone "normal" comes along and tries to claim they're part of the group, there is a fierce backlash. The moment the "normal" people (in their minds, the very sort that had rejected them in the first place) become accepted, they feel they lose a part of their identity, and more importantly, that part was pretty much all they had going for them.
Then again, this applies to other niches in society as well, not just nerdy social outcasts.
Then again, this applies to other niches in society as well, not just nerdy social outcasts.
Professor Beef
Banned
that's not a digimon
PhoncipleBone
Banned
First off, the editing in the video is really damn annoying. The jumps to close ups, then back again just really grated. I had to go to another window and listen to the rest of it without the visuals.
Anyways, she has a lot of good points, and it is sad that the world is that way. I am going to show my wife this and see what she says. I really have never asked her how she is treated if she talks about nerdy stuff. Of course, she is always hanging out with other science nerds. The only real interactions I have seen her have with people she does not know were one time we were at an anime convention (only because a friend was running the video game room and we wanted to see how good a job he did), and last week when I dropped her off at the train station. She happened to be wearing a Doctor Who themed shirt featuring Adipose.
Anyways, she has a lot of good points, and it is sad that the world is that way. I am going to show my wife this and see what she says. I really have never asked her how she is treated if she talks about nerdy stuff. Of course, she is always hanging out with other science nerds. The only real interactions I have seen her have with people she does not know were one time we were at an anime convention (only because a friend was running the video game room and we wanted to see how good a job he did), and last week when I dropped her off at the train station. She happened to be wearing a Doctor Who themed shirt featuring Adipose.
Well, all of my posts would be better with one of my Nisemonogatari avatars.
I see this thread is nitpicking on what "nerd" means etc... I know what I mean when i say the word "nerd", but i got curious to see what wikipedia had to say about it :
"Nerd is a derogatory stereotype of a person typically described as socially-impaired, obsessive, or overly intellectual. They may spend inordinate amounts of time on unpopular, obscure, or highly technical pursuits, or those relating to topics of fiction or fantasy, to the exclusion of more mainstream activities.[1][2][3] Other nerdy qualities include physical awkwardness, introversion, quirkiness, and unattractiveness.[4] Thus, a nerd is often excluded from physical activity and is a social outsider. In the stereotypical high-school situation, they may be either considered loners by others, or associate with a small group of like-minded people. As with other pejoratives, nerd has been reappropriated by some as a term of pride and group identity."
I see. Socially impaired? High IQ? Unpopular? Unattractive? What the fuck? What does that have to do with me knowing, reading, playing and engaging in videogames and it's culture?
"Nerd is a derogatory stereotype of a person typically described as socially-impaired, obsessive, or overly intellectual. They may spend inordinate amounts of time on unpopular, obscure, or highly technical pursuits, or those relating to topics of fiction or fantasy, to the exclusion of more mainstream activities.[1][2][3] Other nerdy qualities include physical awkwardness, introversion, quirkiness, and unattractiveness.[4] Thus, a nerd is often excluded from physical activity and is a social outsider. In the stereotypical high-school situation, they may be either considered loners by others, or associate with a small group of like-minded people. As with other pejoratives, nerd has been reappropriated by some as a term of pride and group identity."
I see. Socially impaired? High IQ? Unpopular? Unattractive? What the fuck? What does that have to do with me knowing, reading, playing and engaging in videogames and it's culture?
spiderman123
Member
Nerds hate each other b/c each believes he/she has an intellectual superiority over the other.
Moral Panic
Member
What a whiner.
Boo, hoo, hoo, someone said something not nice about me!! How can this be!!!
Boo, hoo, hoo, someone said something not nice about me!! How can this be!!!
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