Beginnings

Hello Nerds!

           

            Last post I talked a lot about what a nerd is generally thought of, and how you might be able to put yourself into a category of how well you consider your knowledge. This post I want to talk a little bit about the benefits to being a nerd: how you may be able to make more friends around the workplace, school, and maybe even in your community in general.

            One thing you may notice about being a nerd, even if you aren't one, is that we tend to pop up everywhere. We assimilate into several cultures of the sciences and maths, or you may find us in strange jobs from anywhere to being a Pastor to a Jailer. We’re everywhere! So I hope you will see that if you aren't a nerd, or even if you want to be a more established nerd in the community that by simply reaching out to people, maybe trying to learn a little bit about what they like, you may learn that being a nerd isn't all that hard. It doesn't take much effort or time to go up to someone you’ve never talked to at the office, or the strange girl in the art hallway that’s always playing weird card games, to ask “Hey, whatcha doin’?” I can’t guarantee that they will respond to you, but at least you've created a dialogue with them, that may blossom into something more.

            What you should know as the reader, is that once you find that one person, be he/she a gamer, or lore person, or movie goer, that he/she will most likely have other friends into the same thing, or even better different things, so the never-ending list of new nerdy friends you find, well… never ends. Once you make the leap of faith to ask someone about what it is they do, and even why they do it, even if you don’t want to ever do what they do, or see them again, it’s good you at least came out with the knowledge that you didn't like it. Believe it or not, it is OKAY not to like certain things; no-one is keeping score of how many things you’re into.

            Example: I myself started out as a TOS: Star Trek fan, who was very strict in not expanding out into the newer Star Trek, and because I took that leap of faith, I’m an avid watcher of all series of Star Trek. I didn't like Doctor Who a year ago, now I’m very impatiently waiting for season 8 to come onto Netflix so I can binge ten episodes at a time. As a kid, I liked Batman, but never really got into much of the DC Universe. I made a leap of faith, began reading on Wikipedia about different characters, and now I can’t stop.

            When you learn something about a topic, the biggest payoff I can offer you, is to discuss it with other nerds, that discussion is what really bangs the information into your heads, and will provide a clearer picture of the whole conversation, and it’s likely, you’ll even learn more from them. So being a nerd isn’t hard, stupid, or crazy, we’re not lazy, dump or wastes of space or time, rather we commit ourselves to what we find a passion, and that is what being a nerd is all about.

Resistance is Futile 

Word count: 570

Introduction / Expertiese Levels

On Being a Nerd

Hello Nerds!

            A good place to begin for the blog I think, would be to look at exactly what a nerd is; this should clear up some mess about how the definition I use will definitely be different from yours.

A nerd is (defined by Merriam- Webster’s online dictionary http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nerd) “a person who behaves awkwardly around other people and usually has unstylish clothes, hair, etc.” To be clear, that is the one that I choose to use, and you may as well, but everyone will have a different view of what a nerd is and looks like, positive or negative.  As a nerd, I believe it is my job to be open to new things, and reserve the right to my own interpretation of said content.

            My intentions on what to talk about does not follow that guideline, however. My intention is to talk about things that society may or may not consider “nerdy”, which could be DC Universe, Marvel Universe, Star Trek, Star Wars, and Doctor Who. This is what I shall be focusing on in the following weeks for content. Here….We….Go.

            I believe there are many levels of “nerdom”, and like any activity, you are better the longer you devote yourself. There are first what all of the experienced nerds have probably used once or twice in their life: Noobs. These people are either brand new to the concept, or very close to new. Once you graduate from being a noob, you go to an “established learner”, which just means that you know a little bit of your topic, but you wouldn’t be someone to go to for help understanding the concept quite yet. After you pass that level, you are a “master”, you’ve mastered your topic, but are always learning. Now we come to the final level of expertise: Expert, where you not only know about your trade, but you can explain it to people clearly and thoroughly, and you’re still learning more.  

            Hopefully you can fit yourself into one of these categories, as they were very generic. There are no set levels, and most of them are simply how you feel about yourself. Most of the time no-one knows how good or well versed you are in your area of study, unless you compete against one another; and even then it’s hard to know unless the topic you are both quizzed at is something you both are into. Competitions are also hard because most of the time, both competitors are equally matched, just in different subcategories of the area of the quiz, meaning one big draw. I rather think of life as a nerd as knowing some things, that you want to know, so gathered with many other nerds there would be one large collective knowledge among all.


Word count: 470

            Remember: Resistance is Futile