"Not to be a nerd, but..."

Recommended Videos

Queen Michael

has read 4,010 manga books
Jun 9, 2009
10,400
0
0
kementari said:
What would you say changed gaming into a "non-nerdy" pastime?
Guitar Hero, Singstar, Wii Sports, and parents choosing a gaming console depending on how much excercise you get instead of the quality of the games. (And imagine if you got much more excercise from reading garbage romance novels than from reading Shakespeare and Dostoyevsky, and all the parents telling their kids to stop reading masterpieces and start reading trash because it's good for them.)
 

elvor0

New member
Sep 8, 2008
2,320
0
0
See, I always thought nerd is the kid that studies all the time, school-type person (stereotypically) and the geek is the one that is video games, comic books etc, and going by that definition I am a Geek. And damn proud of it.
 

XJ-0461

New member
Mar 9, 2009
4,513
0
0
I'm not a nerd, I'm a Geek.

This is because I have the same defnition as this guy:

elvor0 said:
See, I always thought nerd is the kid that studies all the time, school-type person (stereotypically) and the geek is the one that is video games, comic books etc, and going by that definition I am a Geek. And damn proud of it.
Geeks unite!
 

KurtzGallahad

New member
Oct 8, 2009
419
0
0
I'm a geek, officially.
According to the ghengis-con 2006 panel the official difference is ; "Geeks Get Girls(Or Guys)" and as I do this I am not a nerd, i am a geek. (It's all about the social skills baby)
 

Bernzz

Assumed Lurker
Legacy
Mar 27, 2009
1,655
3
43
Country
Australia
Gender
Male
BonsaiK said:
kementari said:
I've been seeing this phrase and variations of it all over the Escapist lately. Whether commenting on an article or just discussing what books we're reading, there are always a few of us that want to preface our (usually not very nerdy at all, actually) opinions with an acknowledgment that we just might come off as nerds.

Frankly, I don't get it. This is The Escapist, people. By virtue of being here, we're pretty much assumed to be nerds.

So my question to all users is this: Do you, in fact, feel that you are not a nerd? If so, what about yourself leads you to this conclusion?
People who are hardcore nerds tend to either shun me a little or treat me as an oddity because I only have a semi-superficial understanding of computers and do a lot of stuff that nerds find a bit too "cool" for their taste such as play in bands, go on tour occasionally, run a record label, socialise with a lot of women etc.

On the other hand, people who are in the music scene or the social scenes where I hang out definitely feel like I'm nerdy, because I openly admit to liking computer games, wasting time on internet forums and have a fairly full understanding of nerd culture and memes. So I get shunned a bit there too. I guess I don't fit in anywhere but then that's fine, I'm quite comfortable with that.
I think if I met you I would love you. Regardless of gender or sexual orientation...just sayin'.

Me? I'm a nerd, I guess? I play them vidjamagame thingoes, I waste time on the Internet, I make obscure meme jokes with a few of my other nerdy friends. Oh well, I hang out with a massive group of what everyone likes to label as nerds. I guess I fit in.
 

SimuLord

Whom Gods Annoy
Aug 20, 2008
10,077
0
0
I am a jock and sports fan first and foremost. I have some geeky interests but I greatly resent any attempts to label me as "geek" or "nerd". It's just not how I see myself.
 

TotallyFake

New member
Jun 14, 2009
401
0
0
HUBILUB said:
Well, I feel that nerdness is something to take pride in, especially on a site like this. So if you can out-nerd someone on a site with lots of nerds, you are an awesome nerd.

That still won't get you laid though..
How can it be something to take pride in? It's pejorative, you wouldn't boast about being a "dick" or a "jerk" would you?

Even if it's not pejorative you shouldn't take pride in pigeonholing yourself. By boasting about being a nerd you're restricting yourself to that one line of being. Yes, I could say I'm a nerd. But I'm also a Fencer. A student. A gamer. A dick. A Brit. A guy. A driver. A non-taxpayer. Yes, I have a demographic but it doesn't define me.

Don't be proud about being anything. Be you.
 

NicolasMarinus

New member
Sep 21, 2009
280
0
0
A few years ago I flew to the other end of the world for a two-month solo trip. As I stood there with my tows on a tropical beach I remember thinking "What is a nerd like me doing here? Doing such a cool thing?"

So yes, I definitely feel I am a nerd.
 

likalaruku

New member
Nov 29, 2008
4,290
0
0
Nerds are people that get good grades, hack into computers, & get high-paying sciency jobs. I am a geek: video games, comic books, conventions, & trivia ahoy! I am not a Geek-Nerd hybrid.
 

Cyberjester

New member
Oct 10, 2009
496
0
0
lasherman said:
What I don't think, however, is that being a nerd is a bad thing. I accept that I am considered a nerd, but the way I see it is that the people who generally hate on nerds are just assholes, and people who won't amount to anything special, because they don't want to study and risk being called a "Nerd".
lol. Reminds me of an old joke. "What do you call a nerd in 10 years? Boss."

Which given the study habits of non-nerds, is pretty optimistic.



Rational-Delirium said:
I truly discovered that I was a nerd when before an exam I yelled out with a friend, "Let's do this! LEEEROOYYYY JEEEENNKIINNNNNSSS!!!" (a cookie if you get the reference).
ROFL! That's awesome.

Second WoW vid I watched, first was a vid of a human lock with some awesome music to it and a small storyline.

sky14kemea said:
Alpha Centauri said:
I play D&D, so yeah Imma nerd
I want to play D&D, so yeah I'm also a nerd :D

[sub]Seriously, no one in my city plays it... I have no one to teach me D:[/sub]
Heh, same here. So to make up for not playing it, I just read the rulebooks and made up a whole heap of char's, which I then optimized. Then got a campaign and turned it into a small book of how the char's went through. lol. Sheer boredom..

Note, quasi-legal (technically illegal, just depends on how good you are with law =P) , but "free versions" of all DnD books released are available on the net, read them to get an understanding of the rules. The rest is just playing make believe out loud. Cowboys and Indians with Rogues and Wizards. :D



kementari said:
Frankly, I don't get it. This is The Escapist, people. By virtue of being here, we're pretty much assumed to be nerds.

So my question to all users is this: Do you, in fact, feel that you are not a nerd? If so, what about yourself leads you to this conclusion?
You answered your own question. Anyone on this site definitely has a nerd bent. Most jokes I see here aren't exactly ones that most people will get. =P

Anything involving Monty Python, Douglas Adams, Tolkien AND WoW combined is getting complex even for a nerd to get, let alone someone "normal".


I definitely consider myself a nerd. I'm one of those people who don't study, yet get A's. Find everything so easy that it's boring. Are a top scorer in games that I've never played before. Learn a new language (coded, spoken, fictional) if I get bored and that only takes me a week. I can practically write a thesis on any topic I'm given.

I also spend a lot of time playing sports. Soccer (football to anyone who isn't Aussie or.. USA'ian?), tae kwon doe (I just want to run on walls and do flips like in The Matrix, this was better than gymnastics lol) and fencing.

Am extremely good around people, and given the amount I read, I'm capable of forming decent sentences.

...

I feel we should define nerd before applying it.. I used to think Nerd was maths, science, etc., Geek was more tech and comic related, Jock is sports. But they don't really work as a description since each person will have their own definition of each word. To some Nerd means D&D (thieves only, rogues need not apply), table top gaming, fat, myopic and acne galore. To others it's straight A students who are more of a skeleton size with glasses and a laptop.
 

twcblaze

Lurker Extraordinaire
Jun 18, 2009
316
0
0
I wanted to come into this thread and be all "nerd pride!" but... what really defines a nerd? is it the anti-social aspect generally associated with videogamers, a higher degree of intelligence than your average individual, a fear of confrontation with people more... physically inclined, perhaps a lack of friends or a fear of the opposite sex?

I can't honestly call myself a nerd by any virtue except that I enjoy video games and have a pretty solid vocabulary, but that comes hand in hand with being a smart ass, so if enjoying video games and telling people to piss off in comedic ways makes me a nerd, then yes.
 

RIOgreatescapist

New member
Nov 9, 2009
449
0
0
It's weird cuz I'm like half jock, half nerd. If there was a gamers anonimous anywhere, I could drop this addiction and go on with a regular life. xD
 

Ardna Xela

New member
May 28, 2009
184
0
0
Proud to be 100 % nerd!
I love it when people try to insult me by saying, "You're such a nerd." It doesn't offend me, it makes me proud. And it's much better than to be called a slut or something like that.
 

Lemon Of Life

New member
Jul 8, 2009
1,494
0
0
I don't know tbh, I reckon I look like the complete opposite, but I do enjoy a number of nerdy passtimes. Until recently I collected and painted WH40K miniatures (Chaos baby), and I'm a great fan of the Discworld series, and videogames are one of my favourite passtimes. And yes, posting on a videogame forum is pretty damn nerdy.

But on the other hand, I am quite accomplished at both rugby and judo (which I have been doing since I was 5) and am the best at arm wrestles in my year (yes I sound like a twat, but I felt like putting that in). I also have extremely short hair with the top spiked up, and my friends tell me I look like a dealer :/

I really don't care if someone classifies me as a nerd, but I honestly don't think they would, at a glance anyway. I would even be proud to be a nerd, if it meant I could still have sex.
 

Khada

Night Angel
Jan 8, 2009
331
0
0
i always said that geek is about what you do and nerd is about how you appear. i am a geek, not a nerd. This means i play games, know about comps etc, but walking down the street u would have no idea.
 

thom_cat_

New member
Nov 30, 2008
1,286
0
0
I am a bit of a gamer nerd... I also know how to fix a computer... so yeah that puts me in the nerd category for most people
 

Feralbreed

New member
May 20, 2009
246
0
0
Guess I'm a little. But I don't have the classic computer skills that "qualify" you as a nerd.
I don't know much about them and wouldn't know how to fix a computer either...