Your nerdiness

[Oryan77]

During that 15+ years hiatus time period, a lot of my "pleasure reading" was reading advanced mathematics and engineering type books. (Basically graduate school level type engineering + math textbooks).

Wait, are you trying to say that reading those books instead of being involved in fantasy & gaming stuff makes you less of a nerd?

 

[Dice4Hire]

Im not sure how others would label me, but probably in the general nerd category. I ma interested in a lot of the so-called 'nerdy' tings. But seems to me most of the 'nerdy' things in HS have become much more mainstream recently, look at the movies.

 

[Jack7]

I really don't give this much thought. I've said it before but people don't seem to believe me, but I really don't care what people think of me. In fact, it's a point of contention between myself and my friends because I will do something they perceive as embarrassing and not care, but they will care because they think it affects their social standing.

In this respect I am the same way. I try not to be offensive towards others but I really don't give a crap what anyone thinks of me or my actions or opinions as long as I'm not harming anyone. And I think this affects how others view my nerdiness, that whereas I have a few what might be called "nerdy interests" no-one calls me nerdy. (Except my wife and kids.)

Have you gotten more or less nerdy with time/age?

When I was a kid the term Geek was never used. Brainiac, and later, when I was a teen, the term Nerd was. But I never considered myself a Nerd because whereas I liked science and technology and other Nerd subjects I also played ball and tracked animals and fished and was outdoors a lot and did other non-Nerd stuff.

Back then it was either/or, either you were a Nerd or a Jock or Popular or so forth. That was never really true, and it certainly isn't anymore, thankfully, but at that time that was the way a lot of folks viewed it.

But because of that I don't think of Nerd as a classification of the way a person is, but rather more a set of traits they can exhibit under certain circumstances, whereas in other situations they may exhibit no Nerd traits. So I'd agree with most of the other commentators in that respect.

That being said I'd have to say that with age some of my Nerd traits have become stronger and more evident, many others have practically disappeared. I am though definitely far more of a Nerd than a Geek.

 

[ggroy]

Wait, are you trying to say that reading those books instead of being involved in fantasy & gaming stuff makes you less of a nerd?

Without a precise definition of "nerdiness", the answer is indeterminate.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I don't know or really care how nerdy I am...but let's put it this way: in my game group, comprised of several computer programmers, a math whiz & others, they call me "The Grand Nerdus."

 

[Kzach]

Well lets see, I was just recently called a nerd for playing D&D by an 8 year old. That's pretty sad. Those were of course fighting words to me, and I thought about punching him in the face. But he looked real tough, with his mohawk and all. Why do all these little kids have mohawks now?

I would've punched him solely on the basis of the mohawk.

 

[Agamon]

I've always associated "nerd" negatively, as a socially inept geek.

I have no problem letting anyone know I'm a a geek, though. And I don't think I've become more or less geeky over the years, about the same since my pre-teen years.

 

[S'mon]

Nerdiness is a spectrum; how nerdy I feel depends on the company I'm in.

Edit: I probably felt most nerdy when I was in the Territorial Army in Coventry and surrounded by men who actually wanted to go into combat in foreign lands and kill people for real, something about which I was a lot more equivocal. Overall I feel less nerdy as I get older. In particular being able to say "I'm playing D&D tonight" without fear makes me feel less nerdy!

Edit 2: OTOH being from Northern Ireland, some southern English people (well, nerds) think I'm a bit scary!

 

[Pilgrim]

Gonna guess stayed about the same. Anyone not knowing me personally or meeting me on first impression would probably never think I had a nerdy side, unless I happen to be wearing a nerdy T-shirt at that time.

I don't hide it or anything, and definitely wouldn't be ashamed by anyone knowing, but things like that just don't come up in the average conversation.

All of my closest friends and my wife are people I've come to know through my "nerdy" interests. My son who turns 15 this Sept. follows in my footsteps, most people wouldn't know he enjoys nerdy interests either but he loves to play RPGs, board games and video games, watch sci-fi and fantasy movies and TV, read sci-fi and fantasy books, comic books, attending conventions, science based subjects, etc.

 

[OnlineDM]

I've been at a pretty constant level of nerdiness throughout my life, I'd say.