What is a Nerd exactly? According to Dictionary.com:
nerd [nurd] -noun Slang.
- a stupid, irritating, ineffectual, or unattractive person.
- an intelligent but single-minded person obsessed with a nonsocial hobby or pursuit: a computer nerd.
Origin: 1960–65, Americanism; obscurely derived expressive formation
Huh. Well, I for one certainly disagree with the first definition. There have been strong associations and stereotypes for nerds over the years, but I think it’s safe to say that while some nerds may meet and exceed such stereotypes, nerds today come in many different shapes and sizes. As for the second definition, I think they’ve got it generally right, but their definition is a little outdated. In today’s day and age a nerd’s obsession very rarely has to be nonsocial. Thanks to the internet most nerds have found that their obsessive pursuits, no matter how strange or obscure, are not singularly their own. There’s always someone into the same thing somewhere out there that you can connect with and bask in the nerdalicious glow of D&D, Star Wars, or the mysteries of turtle migration. A nerd is simply a person that gets passionate about a subject, hobby, or topic, and learns as much as they can about it. Now, all bets are off. Anyone can be a nerd. And nerds today don’t have to worry as much about suffering socially as they once did. I think people have started to realize that nerds make really good movies, music, art, science and just about anything else you can think of. Now the popular culture is realizing something us nerds have known all along: It’s cool to be a nerd.
