captmcblack
Member
Everything that was nerdy is still nerdy...it's just socially acceptable now to be public about those interests/activities/fashions, especially if it's to your benefit with a particular group.
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So what is considered "nerdy" these days?
- Thread starter fluffydelusions
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JeTmAn81
Member
Video games are still considered nerdy, even by other gamers. I went to a gathering at a bar last week to play fighting games and one of the players there was calling some of the rest of us "nerds" at random intervals. Usually when we'd say something a little too knowledgeable about a particular game, or when he would behold our Tournament Edition fightsticks.
Nerdy can apply to just about anyone. I think it's when you take the love of something to another level (that is unusual) when it becomes 'nerdy'.
That being said, it's funny how once you figure out how to get paid for doing something considered nerdy, you are then considered a genius by mainstream people.
That being said, it's funny how once you figure out how to get paid for doing something considered nerdy, you are then considered a genius by mainstream people.
This.
I think there's enough flexibility in the terms that both you and Hari Seldon can be right in what you are saying.
It is funny how smart phones and discussing comic book movies are now mainstream. If it wasnt Spidy,Superman,Batman,wolverine in some form people didnt give a shit. Now almost any comicbook movie speculation you bring up people get interested
When it comes to SP Ill give Apple a little credit for the hype thanks to Iphone back in 07.
When it comes to SP Ill give Apple a little credit for the hype thanks to Iphone back in 07.
And yet you still get called a nerd if you discuss the comic books those movie characters came from.
Probably not cosplay, but larping is going too far.
I'm not even sure I'd consider that Pony crap as nerdy, that's just plain creepy weird.
I agree that enjoying something sci-fi or fantasy is not nerdy, but taking it to the excess is when it gets nerdy. I'm also shallow enough to still think that nerdy involves physical aspects. The 90 pound weakling zitface with a bat'leth ranting about Klingon honor. Yeah, that's pretty nerdy. While Schwarzenneger as Conan is not nerdy.
I'm not even sure I'd consider that Pony crap as nerdy, that's just plain creepy weird.
I agree that enjoying something sci-fi or fantasy is not nerdy, but taking it to the excess is when it gets nerdy. I'm also shallow enough to still think that nerdy involves physical aspects. The 90 pound weakling zitface with a bat'leth ranting about Klingon honor. Yeah, that's pretty nerdy. While Schwarzenneger as Conan is not nerdy.
It's a fairly dated word in the first place, I feel like in nowadays with 'nerdy' things becoming more and more mainstream it's bound to either lose meaning or change to mean something entirely different.
I think most people I know would have fallen into the 'nerd' category of times past, those in my generation who don't come under that old category are now the exceptions being considered fairly old fashioned. It's acceptable now, and I'm pretty glad of it since I'm nerdy as hell.
D
Deleted member 13876
Unconfirmed Member
Everything and nothing.
User 100115
Banned
Like Pau said: It's not what you are into, it's how you are into it.
If you like TV Shows like Game of Thrones, Doctor Who, MLP, whatever, that's cool. You like stuff! Awesome.
If you start getting incredibly hyped about the stuff you like, getting into arguments over the internet about it, buying a lot of stuff that reminds you of what you like, and/or making fanworks, you might be geeky/nerdy.
If you like TV Shows like Game of Thrones, Doctor Who, MLP, whatever, that's cool. You like stuff! Awesome.
If you start getting incredibly hyped about the stuff you like, getting into arguments over the internet about it, buying a lot of stuff that reminds you of what you like, and/or making fanworks, you might be geeky/nerdy.
dorkimoe
Member
ElectricBlue187
Member
I feel like most of that stuff is in a murky area but once you've created some fanfiction or fanart you've crossed a solid line right there.
CarpeDeezNutz
Member
Nerds just migrated to forums like neogaf. Ask any of the cute girls with the horn rimmed frames and Dr. Who shirts about forums and the obscure stuff that gets discussed on them. I have and I always get a "huh?" Or "I don't know what that is". Not hating on them girls, they is cute but they ain't nerds.
Rhomega Beta
Member
The pursuit of intellectual and non-physical activities, preferably indoors as opposed to having a social life, exercising, and generally getting out of the house.
TheJollyCorner
Member
Kai Dracon
Writing a dinosaur space opera symphony
I'd have to agree "nerd" is becoming dated and worn out. It's pretty arbitrary these days. I think it's fair to apply the word to a few specific areas, like being a "huge programming nerd". Or math nerd, etc - areas that require a lot of focused study and constant attention that squirrels someone away while they work at it. But otherwise, nerd has little meaning today.
Because culture has accelerated in the process of spreading "arcane" knowledge to the masses. The internet has made it easy to find out about formerly obscure subjects and everybody is exposed now. The true mainstream is catching up.
The internet may also be the culprit for convincing more people it's actually okay to talk about things. As in, really discuss things. Not bullshit about your dick size, the fact that you got a new car, what your boss thinks of you, and other socially safe (and vapid) topics.
Of course, the problem is there's still plenty of cultural intertia that pushes people to divide everyone up into who is acceptable and in the proper cliques and who is not. It's just getting really hard to define what those cliques are as the borders have become amorphous.
Hail discordia, I say.
Because culture has accelerated in the process of spreading "arcane" knowledge to the masses. The internet has made it easy to find out about formerly obscure subjects and everybody is exposed now. The true mainstream is catching up.
The internet may also be the culprit for convincing more people it's actually okay to talk about things. As in, really discuss things. Not bullshit about your dick size, the fact that you got a new car, what your boss thinks of you, and other socially safe (and vapid) topics.
Of course, the problem is there's still plenty of cultural intertia that pushes people to divide everyone up into who is acceptable and in the proper cliques and who is not. It's just getting really hard to define what those cliques are as the borders have become amorphous.
Hail discordia, I say.
Major Williams
Member
Things that are still 'nerdy' I consider topics where you couldn't have a conversation with an average person without it being incredibly one-sided and awkward:
Socialising on the Internet with Strangers:
- Any form of socialising on the internet outside of the main sites (i.e. facebook, twitter, instagram). This includes NeoGAF, Reddit, 4chan, and many other forums.
- Online gaming with a headset
- Online dating is still not fully accepted
Taboo Topics include:
- the word 'interstellar' or 'interplanetary' or 'warp' as used in conjunction with NASA
- My Little Pony (seriously)
- LARPing
- Waifu
- Anime in general
The traditional nerd was someone who wore glasses and spent all day at the library or trying to understand stuff (which usually meant staying inside). Nowadays, the pursuit of knowledge and being techy is fine and dandy because the two have evolved hand-in-hand. Anything that involves staying inside for extended periods of time is still considered nerdy (LARPing being an exception).
Socialising on the Internet with Strangers:
- Any form of socialising on the internet outside of the main sites (i.e. facebook, twitter, instagram). This includes NeoGAF, Reddit, 4chan, and many other forums.
- Online gaming with a headset
- Online dating is still not fully accepted
Taboo Topics include:
- the word 'interstellar' or 'interplanetary' or 'warp' as used in conjunction with NASA
- My Little Pony (seriously)
- LARPing
- Waifu
- Anime in general
The traditional nerd was someone who wore glasses and spent all day at the library or trying to understand stuff (which usually meant staying inside). Nowadays, the pursuit of knowledge and being techy is fine and dandy because the two have evolved hand-in-hand. Anything that involves staying inside for extended periods of time is still considered nerdy (LARPing being an exception).
User 100115
Banned
I did didn't I?
Yeah, I don't think anyone would argue that fanfiction and fanart and fanvids are nerdy. There's no going back from that.
I've done all of the above aside from one, since I can't draw.
We had this huge discussion with my friends about this and we came to the conclusion that the most nerd thing that can exist these days is ...
.... Editing Wikipedia fixing mistakes, grammar and for other serious reasons
edit : But White and Nerdy is still pretty good in this aspect
.... Editing Wikipedia fixing mistakes, grammar and for other serious reasons
edit : But White and Nerdy is still pretty good in this aspect
Flame Lord
Member
Everything.
It's crazy how words change with time, especially when it's your own time. Growing up in the late 80's/90's both terms were almost equally negative with nerd edging it out but being a "geek" still got you bullied plenty. The difference was that geeks were mostly just extra socially awkward, though usually because of their interests/behavior (like sci-fi and comics), while nerds were these "strange people who thought learning was fun and enjoyed boring things like math and science and you'd catch them reading and talking about it outside of class and homework!" Usually nerds were at least a bit geeky, and geek interests had a basis in nerdy subjects, but not all geeks were nerds and vice versa. There also was no such thing as "sport geeks" or "film geeks" (unless you count AV-club members which were more nerdy because they tended to be more interested in the technology and techniques of film/radio rather than the films themselves). If you were into something cool, you were a "fan" or "obsessed" but not a "geek". "Geeks are cool"/geek-chic didn't start being at all common until a few years into the millennium because people who were geeky (mostly nerds) were turning out to be highly successful in the new tech economy, and people needed to find a way to respond to the "pimple-faced losers" being more successful than them and their loser-interests like computers suddenly being an inescapable sometimes cornerstone of their own lives.
Geek has definitely changed, as MLP fans would definitely be considered geeks but not nerds by the old definitions, and now the term just seems to be "someone with a legitimate interest in a subject". Nerd is hard because of it's old relation to geek but it wasn't brought along in the "Geeks are cool!" revolution. I still tend to think of nerd as a term referring to those who follow STEM type intellectual pursuits very seriously (Geeks dress up as their favorite Star Trek characters to go to cons, while nerds stay home reading about quantum physics dreaming of making their own warp drives), but from the responses here it seems like it's becoming if not already just "bad geek": Geeks that still aren't socially acceptable (LARPers, Bronies) or go too far (ST fans who go into measured meticulous detail to recreate a room in their house as an exact replica of the original series enterprise bridge and it would bother them if the chairs were just one centimeter off in distance from each other).
/old-man-yelling-at-cloud.jpg
Geek has definitely changed, as MLP fans would definitely be considered geeks but not nerds by the old definitions, and now the term just seems to be "someone with a legitimate interest in a subject". Nerd is hard because of it's old relation to geek but it wasn't brought along in the "Geeks are cool!" revolution. I still tend to think of nerd as a term referring to those who follow STEM type intellectual pursuits very seriously (Geeks dress up as their favorite Star Trek characters to go to cons, while nerds stay home reading about quantum physics dreaming of making their own warp drives), but from the responses here it seems like it's becoming if not already just "bad geek": Geeks that still aren't socially acceptable (LARPers, Bronies) or go too far (ST fans who go into measured meticulous detail to recreate a room in their house as an exact replica of the original series enterprise bridge and it would bother them if the chairs were just one centimeter off in distance from each other).
/old-man-yelling-at-cloud.jpg
dragonelite
Member
Chuckie
Member
User 100115
Banned
That would make everyone in government a nerd/geek.
Which is so very, very not the case.
Messofanego
Banned
Yeah, I don't think anyone would argue that fanfiction and fanart and fanvids are nerdy. There's no going back from that.
I've done all of the above aside from one, since I can't draw.
Speaking of fanfics, when I was younger I had no idea what fanfiction meant. No Google at the time. I remember reading a lot of fanfics for DBZ and thought "man why is there so much sex in these? They don't show this stuff on the show...". I thought it was official canon stuff that just hadn't been animated yet! HAHA
User 100115
Banned
That's hilarious. I always thought the disclaimers on fic was kinda dumb, because who would think these were written by the actual media producers? Now I know! Kids without google! Hee
I was so happy to discover fanfic back in the day. It has become an addiction to hunt down the really good stuff. Getting free, excellent stories about characters you love is amazing. (Also, porn, the porn is good too)
It was worst when I ran into an erotic Ranma manga while searching for the actual manga.... the fact that the art style emulated Rumiko's own style just got things worst
"wow that is .... so out of character for Ranma to ... do ... those things ... with ... Ryoga"
blame space
Banned
I'm the #1 nerd of NeoGAF.com.
I'm an expert
Formerly worldrevolution. The only reason I am nice to anyone else is to avoid being banned.
Ponies, Dr. Who, playing League of Legends in public places, still thinking Star Trek is relevant, majoring in film/tv, and wearing fedoras.
Fatal Futanari
Member
I hate to say it but "nerd" has gone mainstream to the point where it lost its meaning. You like watching anime? NERD! You like playing CoD? NERD! You doing homework? NERD! -_-
All the tech geeks at my university get so offended if you call them a nerd haha. I don't really care personally. I just consider myself more of a geek than nerd.
All the tech geeks at my university get so offended if you call them a nerd haha. I don't really care personally. I just consider myself more of a geek than nerd.
It's a hard question. As an adult I don't really care if someone considers my activities nerdy, and my friends seem to all do something that was at some point considered nerdy. I don't think anyone would call them nerds either... the people I know to play Warhammer miniatures look like the Techno Viking. Does anyone even pay attention?
If I had to guess what young people these days consider weird enough to get nerdy I'd probably go for hentai, my little pony and wearing fedoras but what do I know.
If I had to guess what young people these days consider weird enough to get nerdy I'd probably go for hentai, my little pony and wearing fedoras but what do I know.
I'm an expert
Formerly worldrevolution. The only reason I am nice to anyone else is to avoid being banned.
Clearly you ain't bout dis corn husking life.
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