Nerd requirments

[Sniper Team 4]

Must know of Weird Al and like some, or all, of his songs. Must understand the humor behind White and Nerdy and laugh at it. Must enjoy one, or all, of the following: Dungeons and Dragons, Star Wars, Star Trek, Lord of the Rings, or some sort of comic book series (If you call them graphic novels, you are hereby stripped of your Nerd Badge in my book) . Must be able to know the correct answer to the maximum air velocity of an unladen swallow . If someone shows you the Vulcan hand sign, you must know the proper greeting that accompanies said gesture. Obsessed with something that, while the rest of the world claims they get, they clearly do not because they are not able to answer a question that any true nerd of said franchise would know in a second. Video games are more than Call of Duty or Halo to you. And the final piece of the puzzle:

Other people need to see you as a nerd. You can call yourself one all you want, but unless others say it is so, you are not a nerd.

 

[FarleShadow]

Can quote the specific impulse of the Shuttle engine's in vacuum.

Incidently, I was at work one day, reading about the laser/microwave engine some guy was designing when a customer (An awkward, nerdy one) asked me what the advantages of the L/M engine was. I then explained that the I/sp of the shuttle was a mere 450 (I rounded for ease) but the technology he proposed would give around 7000 I/sp (According to the article) and, I said, also meant that the proposed shuttle could carry a bigger payload because it didn't have to also carry its fuel to orbit.

The customer looked at me for a moment, then asked me how I knew this stuff.

"I read alot, I guess" I replied, tucking my starship design under the magazine.

 

[CrashBang]

Typical nerd interests are video games, comic books, D&D, anime, science fiction, fantasy. Typical behaviour is a huge interest in maths/science and poor social skills
Nowadays almost everyone can relate to something on that list and not be called a nerd, the most obvious being video games and fantasy (I know so many non-nerds who are almost obsessed with LOTR). But some of these interests (e.g. comic books and D&D) I would still call fairly exclusively nerdy. I love comic books so I'd class myself as a nerd, but liking anime and sci-fi isn't that nerdy at all any more, I don't think

 

[Vonnis]

I agree with Limecake here. Being a nerd just means being obsessed with any hobby, whether that hobby is traditionally seen as 'nerdy' (vidya, RPGs, movies) or it's the polar opposite (sports). I know a lot of people I consider to be nerds (including myself), but none of them look like the nerd stereotype and none of them are considered to be nerds by anyone else.

 

[William MacKay]

Possession of a die with more then 6 sides.

A basic knowledge of and ability to play an ocarina

Knowing the cake is a lie, and specificly where that is from.

The instinctual reaction to blow on any cartridge device to make it work if something goes wrong.

Complete memorization of "THE" code of the NES, with an ability to recite it word/letter for word/letter.


... actaully.. those are all rather managable, maybe the toughest being the Ocarina part.

i would agree. except i dont have #2, or the last one totally (i never had a NES, due to being born in '95 and (resist making comment implying i'm 115...) my first console was a PS1.
'Up, Down, Up, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, A, B' i think. probably wrong, that was a vague guess (i learned it for I Don't Even Game).

 

[emeraldrafael]

Possession of a die with more then 6 sides.

A basic knowledge of and ability to play an ocarina

Knowing the cake is a lie, and specificly where that is from.

The instinctual reaction to blow on any cartridge device to make it work if something goes wrong.

Complete memorization of "THE" code of the NES, with an ability to recite it word/letter for word/letter.


... actaully.. those are all rather managable, maybe the toughest being the Ocarina part.

i would agree. except i dont have #2, or the last one totally (i never had a NES, due to being born in '95 and (resist making comment implying i'm 115...) my first console was a PS1.
'Up, Down, Up, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, A, B' i think. probably wrong, that was a vague guess (i learned it for I Don't Even Game).

thats actually right (I think, its been a while since i had to use it), and its alright, id ont have requirement two either. Though i can play the zelda overworld adventure song on the spoons (I know, not that impressive).

EDIT: besides I'm older then you, so i cant make jokes about someone's age.

 

[Vault101]

Id say nerd and geek are diferent things

my brother is a nerd because he is very very acedemically focused, and reads books about stuff like post modernism in his spare time (though hes not into sciences)

Im more a geek because I have extensive knowlege of pop culture, like video games and movies, and I play video games and watch alot of movies, and am a PC gamer

 

[ThatLankyBastard]

-as attempted to breed a shiny Pokemon
-has collected over 3 days of anime (in a 3 month period)
-has inside jokes related to masturbation

...check, check and check!

 

[icame]

You have a hobby that takes up most of your time, and zed activity generally does not require interaction with others (Online chat doesn't count.) You have an above average intelligence in fields of science and are into science fiction. THAT IS ALL.






...Having watched Scott pilgrim vs the world also raises your score by 1.

Maybe having read it, the movie is more partial credit.

Good point. I will now set the rules in stone.

Wheres my chisel..

 

[iDoom46]

Obsession over a type of activity (reading, sports, video games etc.)

or the constant need to increase your knowledge in a certain area.

just my opinion

That pretty much fits my view on the matter perfectly. It kind of helps that the definition of geek actually meant someone who obsesses over something, before it became what it means now.
Maybe I'd change "constant need to increase knowledge in a certain area" to just "constant need to increase knowledge" because nerds always want to learn new things!

There really isn't one true type of nerd. After all, there are lots of different kinds geeks/nerds with different names attached to them:
Music geek, for people who are way into music
Mathalete, for people with insane math skillz
Trekkie, for people with an absurdly extensive knowledge of the Star Trek universe
[Hardcore] Gamer, for people who obsess over video games
And so on.

 

[Xixikal]

Being a rather old-school geek, I have a pretty specific definition of "nerd", and it's a very different definition than the one for "geek".
A nerd generally has to be absorbed into their science/tech/art of choice to the point that they can't easily talk or relate to any person who doesn't share their obsession. They're the type who will string the jargon of their hobby/job/obsession into daily speech, and look down upon anyone who doesn't understand said jargon. A geek may share the interest, and even be capable of communicating effectively with the nerd... but the geek will have other interests as well, and be capable of (possibly broken) communication with the outside world.

Hear, hear.

 

[IndianaJonny]

Can remember when and where they first rolled a D20.

 

[zehydra]

A nerd is somebody who likes particular things or activities which the mainstream culture looks down upon in some way.

And calling someone a nerd is VERY VERY Destructive.

It's kind of why I hate it when people call themselves nerds; they're reinforcing the idea that it's acceptable.

 

[Connor Lonske]

Knows 80% or more about a subject that the majority of the population unless it is required to your job... unless your MovieBob, in which case your a nerd no mater what you argue.

 

[OmniscientOstrich]

Obsession over a type of activity (reading, sports, video games etc.)

or the constant need to increase your knowledge in a certain area.

just my opinion

I'd say this coupled with social ineptitude/awkwardness that's my definition, although I could just be projecting.

 

[pspman45]

Has a Zombie apocalypse contingency plan. (or several)

I got 'dis

 

[similar.squirrel]

An extensive knowledge of a franchise designed solely to take your money is a good start.

 

[Inkidu]

Has compiled a vast compendium of knowledge on at least two subjects that have no practical survival applications.