[Here's my best summary of what a "fierce nerd" is, according to this essay] Most non-nerds think of nerds as: * quiet * diffident In fact some nerds

[Here's my best summary of what a "fierce nerd" is, according to this essay] Most non-nerds think of nerds as: * quiet * diffident In fact some nerds are quite fierce. "Fierce nerds" are: * small group [subset of nerds overall?] * more competitive than highly competitive non-nerds * competition is more personal for them; they're not emotionally mature enough to distance themselves personally from competition * work in areas that are less random in the kinds of competition they engage in [no points for persuasion or style, I suppose] * somewhat overconfident, especially when young * intelligent, at least moderately so * independent-mindeded, see fitting it as wasted effort * annoyed by rules * impatient, not sure why [I'll let you draw your own conclusions.]