Whenever most people encounter the word “nerd”, an image pops into their head. Maybe it’s the weirdo with the thick glasses that was oddly good at chemistry back in high school. Or, perhaps it’s the unkempt girl sitting in the library reading an Orson Scott Card novel while, as far as she’s concerned, reality might as well have stopped. A character from a movie, a relative, it doesn’t matter — most of us have a mental picture of what we think a nerd is. But I’ve got news for you, Captain Fantastic: you’re a nerd. Huge nerd. You.
“Now, wait just a cotton-pickin’ minute, you Internet cheesehead!”, you might be saying to yourself. Or maybe not. Either way, I’m going to tell you how I know this. It’s pretty simple.
Is there something that you wish you could talk about more with your spouse, but don’t because (s)he couldn’t possibly care less about that particular thing? Maybe your coworkers would absolutely love to never hear the word “whaling” come out of your mouth ever again. Does your therapist suggest you go rent some sushi documentaries instead of paying her $250 an hour just to have somebody pretend to care about uncooked fish? Nerd.
Virtually every person on the planet is really interested in something. It needn’t be lofty or even important, but it’s there. Football, cooking, exercise, needlepoint — the list could go on forever. Me? I like efficiency. I like Evernote and Vim. Coffee, too, and beer. I’m also a big fan of English and software development. If you sit down with me at a table containing some type of comfortable beverage, I’ll happily chew on your ear until it falls off about any one of these topics. Am I an expert in each? Absolutely not. Do each of them hold a special place in my mind a good chunk of the time? You bet your ass they do and I make no apologies for it.
There’s something innately attractive about somebody who really gives a crap about something. Ask my wife about Jane Austen or my brother about reef tanks and watch their faces light up like they’ve been waiting for this opportunity for what seems like an eternity. Seeing somebody’s inner nerd come bursting forth is an inspiring thing because, if they’re honest with themselves, they’re probably aware that they have an unusually concentrated amount of gush for their “thing” (or things) and they don’t make much of an argument when it’s their turn prattle on about it for awhile.
What’s your nerd thing? (Note: not a rhetorical question: tell me in the comments!)
Also, when’s the last time you dug around in somebody’s head to figure out what kind of nerd they are?
Photo by silkegb
[...] about design brings me to Bridging the Nerd Gap’s “Why You’re a Huge Nerd.” It’s fantastic. As I tell all my first year students during our first class together: [...]