Reasons You're a Nerd

Google defines nerd as "A foolish or contemptible person who lacks social skills or is boringly studious," and in the same breath, "an intelligent, single-minded expert in a particular technical discipline or profession." Now, one of those sounds pretty attractive to the general public. You can guess which one.

I'm a nerd. I definitely lack social skills, and I search "define [word]" at least once an hour every hour. But I have had a problem with the word and the way people use it, because being a nerd is explicitly different from being a dork or a geek. Or a hipster. The problem I have is with the second definition up there. That, my dear readers, is the clear definition of a geek, not a nerd. A geek, if you must know, is a person that is interested, perhaps even obsessed with one particular hobby or 'technical discipline.' A geek is a high school trombone player that practices constantly because he loves it.

And a nerd is not "one who wears thick, black-rimmed glasses." A nerd is not cool. Nerd does not equal cool. At least not in the dictionary definition of the two words.

The point of this post is to discuss how I can't stand certain misuse of words, like "jealousy" instead of "envy." Jealousy is the fear of losing someone to another that you think is better than you. Envy is the feeling of wanting what another has. But "I'm so jealous" is so much easier to say than "I'm so envious." Doesn't quite roll off the tongue.

Anyway, back to nerdiness. Thanks to hipsters and their opposite-equals (fashion-following preps/jocks), being a nerd has become strangely cool. Revenge of the Nerds is no longer a study in weird, but something that almost everyone can relate to. When did being weird and nerdy become everybody's dream? It seems to be that being intelligent no longer exists. Being a nerd is now cool because being intelligent equals being a nerd now to the mainstream. Because you aren't a moron, you are now a nerd. You read books? Nerd. You don't party, but instead write articles? Nerd. You don't constantly have a beer bong shoved down your throat? Fuck, man, I must be a nerd.

Ugh, I have no points left to make. I'm going to go play Empire Earth. I'm done being a nerd now.