First lets define nerds. I think there are basically 2 different sub categories but I think both still qualify as "nerds": 1. Students who care a lot about thei

First lets define nerds. I think there are basically 2 different sub categories but I think both still qualify as "nerds": 1. Students who care a lot about their academic achievements in school. 2. Students who fall in love with a subject: science, programming etc and spend time outside of school with these subjects. (May not have good grades) In India, both these types would be thought of as "ahead of the pack". In both cases, in the US, these guys would be looked down upon in High School - "nerds". -- You also talk about "memorisation". Well I've been around the top "memorisers" there are in India - ie the topmost ranking student of an education system which is solely memorisation based (the Tamil Nadu State Board). And one thing you wont understand until you meet these guys is that they are very very very hardworking. Memorisation is HARD WORK. Imagine having to memorise a whole book. I've seen these guys do well in college too. Ie, they dont memorize everything.