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I think this article is using the term "nerd" in high regard. "smart" as opposed to "glasses and giant backpack". The article paints these people as colorful ch

• chime 14y ago
  If replacing the word 'nerd' with women, black, or gay in each sentence isn't acceptable, then 'nerd' isn't acceptable.
  • gurkendoktor 14y ago
    I think this depends on the question whether nerds actively choose to be nerds, or whether they are born into their fate. Generalisations about people who willingly do/become something are different IMHO.
    • kleiba 14y ago
      You're right that the classes of people named by your parent are all categories one gets born into. But is this really the defining difference? I believe it may seem that "nerds" differ because after all, you're not born with technical knowledge, you get into it by interest and learn it through studying and practicing. But it is not the technical know-how that nerds get ridiculed for. That's actually about the only part that gets us at least some respect, unless it's downplayed as "just technology". No, it is the inability to comply to some social norms. For instance, most of us don't care about the latest fashion trends (because we think that fashion is ridiculous). Or, we don't easily pick up on certain subtext signals. It is this non-acceptance that perhaps drives us toward technology in the first place. Because computers don't judge us. Because we understand them, and they understand us. We are not nerds because we like technology. We like technology because we are nerds.
      • gurkendoktor 14y ago
        I agree with all of that, but sadly the word 'nerd' is not clearly defined. To many it is a lifestyle choice, including some people who label themselves as nerds. If you compare, "When the Goths go marching in" (another lifestyle choice) would seem much more acceptable than "When the Aspergers go marching in" (which is closer to what you described as nerd).
• kleiba 14y ago
  Yes, I think you are right about this particular article, and maybe also about the other examples you list. But I am not sure I agree with your conclusion that "nerds are actually doign pretty well in popular culture right now." To me it seems like your examples are the exception rather than the norm. Too many times I find myself reading the exact same stereotypes repeated over and over again: yes, a lot of technically inclined people are shy and their discomfort around other people shows in non-standard behavior. But instead of showing empathy toward otherness, this and other cliches are too often used as an easy to hit target for laughs and ridicule. Not so much in this example. Perhaps not in some of the others you name. But as long as "the nerd" is presented as some kind of peculiarity of society, as long as we get described with the same stereotypes again and again, as long as we're not accepted the way we are, I think it's worth pointing out that we don't like to be stared at, we don't like to be laughed at, and we don't like to be labeled. We deserve better than being looked down on as "just the tech guy" who's just good enough to help set up the new wireless router. Again, I agree that this article is for the most part actually pretty good. We need more articles that portray us fairly. But even this one still yields to the temptation every now and then, for instance with the choice of the photo, an allusion to table-top RPGs ("Hatch was playing the role of dungeon master") and the n-th iteration of certain cliches ("He, too, has a memory that all nerds share: Late at night, light from a chunky monitor illuminating his face, fingers flying across a keyboard, he figured something out.")