If you call yourself a "nerd" I probably hate you. (reddit)

[Thief]

I used to think of myself as a nerd, but I don't really anymore. You know why? Because I've found the entire "nerd" culture is based off of some sort of unwarranted feeling of superiority and bitterness towards "mundanes."

Most people who call themselves nerds, that I've come across, seem to have a very skewed perspective of how society works, and seem to think it mirrors an 80s high school drama, with pigeonholed classes of "jocks" and "nerds" etc. Guess what? High school, or for that matter, life, is nothing like that. And no, don't "be nice to nerds because you'll be calling them boss one day" because that literally almost never happens.

One of the things that bothers me most about self-described nerds is the same thing people hate about hipsters: the vacuous idea that their interests are unique, "underground," and makes them special snowflakes. Video games, sci-fi, fantasy, comic books, Game of Thrones, Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Star Trek, etc. are not a "subculture" they are part of THE pop culture. Those things are WILDLY popular! I mean, MOST people play video games! The thing is, if being "nerdy" meant liking those interests fine, but it isn't, which brings me to my next point:

You're not smart because your choice in pop culture is different from someone else's. Think I'm making this up? Let's take a look at one of the most insufferable websites on the internet: ThinkGeek. ThinkGeek's very tagline is "stuff for smart masses." So clearly, they, or their clientele thinks their products are for some sort of elite class. All of their products are either vapid pop culture references, or vaguely "sciencey" things. Now, maybe I'm naive, but how the hell does that make someone "smart?" Hint: it doesn't. For all the hate Hot Topic gets, I really can't tell the difference. Both take pop culture and remarket them in a way that tries to make the client feel like a part of some sort of exclusive club. I actually unsubscribed to r/shutupandtakemymoney for this very reason: it just became "LOOK AT THIS GEEKY SHIRT THAT ONLY US GEEKS WILL 'GET' GUYS!!!!"

And another thing: just because you're vaguely competent with computers doesn't make you smart. You're not going to be the next Steve Jobs or Bill Gates. You're probably going to end up working a dead-end IT job. You know who, from my high school class, was the most successful? The "jocks" were. They were smart too! What? You can be good at sports AND be intelligent? Say it isn't so! Surprise: people with social skills tend to be able to connect with others more effectively. Furthermore, social skills and intelligence are not mutually exclusive either. This whole "misunderstood genius" bullshit makes my blood boil like none other.

The crux of the issue is this: far too many people self-identify as nerds because no other part of their personality is compelling or interesting. I guess they have this outdated concept that "nerdiness" isn't cool, but here's a newsflash: it is. Also, you're not looked down upon for being "smart," you're looked down upon for having childish interests, and for being completely uncultured. For all the superiority self-described nerds have over reading more, why is it that the sorts of books they read are shitty fantasy novels or Star Wars extended universe crap? Pop culture in written form is no less asinine than pop culture in any other media.

Anyhow, yeah, fuck nerds.

https://www.reddit.com/r/offmychest/com ... _hate_you/

A post about how nerd culture is the dumbest fucking thing ever. What are your thoughts?

[amiga1200]

REDSHIT! oh man, i could spin that, but...can't be fucked!

write-off, click-bait, and i bit!
that said, the term nerd has lost it's meaning.
what i come to understand it as, are certain folks with extremely well versed expertise in all-round technology, to the point it's like a second skin.
afaic, nerds are the movers and shakers behind the scenes, the guys that know their shit, and require NO recognition.
their intellect IS their self-respect/worth...at least for the most part. (it's later in life, the make the big bucko$!)
...
these guys are heroes, what we have today is pretentious wannabes, and the irony is they call jocks out. (true, some jocks can be dicks, but the nerds i knew used their heads and repelled borders. theirs more than one way to fuck a dog.)
...
what would i consider myself?
nothing on such a scale of skills, and intellect.
just a moron by comparison, but that doesn't make them better, or me worse...
just different paths.
...
nahh, didn't read that shit posted, prejudice of subject title, kinda kicked in again, and the MONOLITH OF SHIT that would put the black slab off 2001, a space odyssey to fuckin shame!
...
who cares?!
the word has lost it's meaning altogether, pretentious bastards. (real nerds are not seen, but DO!)

[Hyo Razuki]

Well, every sub-culture which becomes popular gets commercialized sooner or later and becomes part of "pop culture". It happened to Rock n Roll, to esotericism, to Punk, to Hip Hop, to Grunge, to video games and even to porn (at least to some degree). And now the same thing is happening to the whole "nerd"-culture. No need to rant about it.

I also don't get the nerds vs jocks part. Yeah, I have some friends who would probably make a classical "jock" and are very smart at the same time, got a nice diploma and everything. Jocks can be smart. But who says nerds can't be sporty or sexy? One girl who was one of the hottest chicks in my semester in university and is still a good friend - and also one of the most gorgeous women I have ever seen - used to read fantasy novels and do manga cosplay on weekends. Another friend of mine is built like a brick shithouse, served in the German army and plays center forward on his local football (soccer) team. That very same dude walks around town in Big Bang Theory or One Piece shirts in his free time and has a girlfriend, a car, a blu ray collection of all Star Trek movies and a shitload of video game consoles at home. Fucking duh!

What I'm saying is, I have a lot of friends who are "smart jocks" and a lot of friends who are "sporty/sexy nerds" (and a shitload of "normal" friends who are neither very sporty nor very nerdy). Life isn't just black and white. Come on!

Nerdiness is part of the main stream now and yes, some people are over-emphasizing their own nerdiness but the person who wrote this should probably just get over themselves. Those are just dorks. They'll always do what's "hip" right now. If this was the mid-90's those people would have long hair, wear checked lumberjack shirts and tell you about how they learned the third chord with their own Nirvana cover band.

Did you write this, Thief?

[amiga1200]

^^ case and point!
thank you!
[edit]
and life IS B&W!
you either 'got it' or 'you don't'.

[streetwaves]

Well, every sub-culture which becomes popular gets commercialized sooner or later and becomes part of "pop culture". It happened to Rock n Roll, to esotericism, to Punk, to Hip Hop, to Grunge, to video games and even to porn (at least to some degree). And now the same thing is happening to the whole "nerd"-culture. No need to rant about it.

I also don't get the nerds vs jocks part. Yeah, I have some friends who would probably make a classical "jock" and are very smart at the same time, got a nice diploma and everything. Jocks can be smart. But who says nerds can't be sporty or sexy? One girl who was one of the hottest chicks in my semester in university and is still a good friend - and also one of the most gorgeous women I have ever seen - used to read fantasy novels and do manga cosplay on weekends. Another friend of mine is built like a brick shithouse, served in the German army and plays center forward on his local football (soccer) team. That very same dude walks around town in Big Bang Theory or One Piece shirts in his free time and has a girlfriend, a car, a blu ray collection of all Star Trek movies and a shitload of video game consoles at home. Fucking duh!

What I'm saying is, I have a lot of friends who are "smart jocks" and a lot of friends who are "sporty/sexy nerds" (and a shitload of "normal" friends who are neither very sporty nor very nerdy). Life isn't just black and white. Come on!

Nerdiness is part of the main stream now and yes, some people are over-emphasizing their own nerdiness but the person who wrote this should probably just get over themselves. Those are just dorks. They'll always do what's "hip" right now. If this was the mid-90's those people would have long hair, wear checked lumberjack shirts and tell you about how they learned the third chord with their own Nirvana cover band.

Did you write this, Thief?

I agree with most of this. Whining about these kids is pointless.

[Hyo Razuki]

That's normal. When Punk was big there was a lot of fake "Punk" guys around, when Hip Hop was big a lot of people pretended to "rap" in their free time. Now "nerd" is big and a lot of people appreciate nerd culture while some just overdo it. But then again, get over it.

So yeah, why whine about it?

[Riku Rose]

Sadly we evolved from animals that roamed in packs so we still have that thing in us telling us to be a part of some kind of culture or family.

The whole nerd culture thing is weird, as it's become part of the mainstream you now have this hipster mentality with the nerds of 'I liked all this stuff before it was cool'. It's a bit sad to think like that but it's like at school when some kid tries super hard to join your group and you're all left wondering what the fuck is he doing. You suddenly have every kid who got made fun of for liking Batman sharing a movie theater with the people who made fun of them 20 years ago. It seems like now that the cool kids have joined the club the nerds are trying to out nerd them to have some kid of weird one up over them so they can finally be the people who decide what is and isn't cool. Ryudo would be one who anytime someone made a topic about a semi popular game would go on some rant about how it was soooo mainstream and sucked because of it, it just comes off as 'if I don't deem this worthy as a true original nerd therefore no one should enjoy this content'. Nerds just seem angry that the kids they don't like are now sharing the treehourse.

Still as much as nerd shit is in the mainstream 90% of the people who go and see the new Fantastic Four movie next month will just enjoy it as a dumb distraction from everyday life for 2 hours and never think about it again once the credits roll. Only 10% will hold it under some microscope. As much as this stuff is in the mainstream it's still only the nerds that really really care about this stuff. It's not like everyone in the world is now going to Comic Con and collecting Game of Thrones action figures, it's still only the same people who did it before.

I still also partly don't think this whole nerd culture now being cool thing is anything super new. Some of the biggest movies that came out before I was even born was Star Wars and Superman. The fact that the internet just makes it easier for people with similar interests to talk to each other just makes it seem like it's a much more common thing then it was before. If I walked into work tomorrow and started talking about Final Fantasy I'm sure 90% of people would have no idea what the fuck I am talking about. I've not been to any kind of school now for over 5 years (fucking courts) but I seriously doubt no one is playing football and they're all sitting around reading Spider-man comics.

As for defining yourself as a nerd. When you say that as one of the first things to define yourself it just shows you have no personality. Sure I like nerdy stuff but I'd describe my personality well before I start telling people that I really like the Marvel movies. I remember in a PM taking the piss out of Dorian as in the first 3 things whenever he described himself he said he was gay. As much as we have this pack mentality still you need to be your own person within those packs and have your own defining characteristics.

[Thief]

Well, I think it's perfectly fine to whine about things you find annoying.

The biggest issue here I think, is not that people are pretending to be nerdy for the sake of fitting into current trends, but instead, that actual nerdiness means being involved in some sort of pop culture fuckfest. Being a nerd basically means being Napoleon Dynamite. It's people with very childish interests, or rather, people who exclusively have these sorts of childish interests, who then tote around as if they were smart, or special, for having them.

I like Star Wars (or whatever) as much as the next guy, but it's not all there is to the world -- and there are so many people who completely surround themselves (almost exclusively) with this sort of talk. So much so, that if anyone were to bring up any sort of interesting idea or discussion, it would be completely waved away in favor of mindless chatter: "No Final Fantasy 6 is the best Final Fantasy because I like the music the best and the story is cool and". And the reason this frustrates me so much is because I constantly find myself surrounded by this sort of mindless interaction in my real life.

I'm ashamed to ever call myself a nerd, and if anybody ever chooses to call me one, I am legitimately offended. Nerd culture is just full of people who are socially unaware and completely uncultured -- with usually nothing interesting to say.

No though, I didn't write the original text, I just thought it was interesting and that I agreed with much of what was written.

[Kenny]

[amiga1200]

^^ now THAT's from the op.
fair point.
...
like riku said at the last paragraph, define own ???!
...
for what it's worth, society is fucked, left is right, up is down, you get the idea. (words are salads, subject to whimsical changes, TOSSED! )
...
what's fucked, is i've tried to be a person of 'can-do', it pays for my shit-talk' in advance. (irl, there's something to be said for unloading.) but not ONCE have i ever been thought of as a nerd, despite the hunks of shit i have in my home. (and overall interests.) and i would FAR from see it as an insult, even if they made that the point.

[streetwaves]

Well, I still don't necessarily think that complaining about these types of people really does much good, but I can see where you're coming from.

For instance, I'm really, really into music. A lot of people might call me a hipster because of some of the music I listen to, and yet I probably would take at least slight offense to that label. I don't think it's a big deal or anything, but yeah, I don't want people thinking I'm a hipster in much the same way you don't want people calling you a nerd. I see hipsters as people with almost entirely predictable interests, and whose knowledge of the subject is pretty much limited only to what's seen as "cool" to be into.

Still, what's the point in complaining, really? I don't really see what could come of it, and I think there's the danger there of coming off like a pretentious dickhead instead of just having some people mistake you for a nerd (same thing I have to be conscious of). What's worse? Frankly, I think it's probably best to stop giving a shit what anybody thinks of you and your interests.

Dig the avatar by the way.

[Thief]

Well, I still don't necessarily think that complaining about these types of people really does much good, but I can see where you're coming from.

For instance, I'm really, really into music. A lot of people might call me a hipster because of some of the music I listen to, and yet I probably would take at least slight offense to that label. I don't think it's a big deal or anything, but yeah, I don't want people thinking I'm a hipster in much the same way you don't want people calling you a nerd. I see hipsters as people with almost entirely predictable interests, and whose knowledge of the subject is pretty much limited only to what's seen as "cool" to be into.

Still, what's the point in complaining, really? I don't really see what could come of it, and I think there's the danger there of coming off like a pretentious dickhead instead of just having some people mistake you for a nerd (same thing I have to be conscious of). What's worse? Frankly, I think it's probably best to stop giving a shit what anybody thinks of you and your interests.

Dig the avatar by the way.

Yeah, complaining about it probably doesn't do much good, since it's not like it's going to change anything. I suppose this was more just a way to vent -- since it frustrates me not being able to have a decent conversation with anyone in real life. Of course, I never ever say any of these things to people I know, because like you said, I don't want to come across as pretentious (or an all around prick), but instead I think it's courteous to be polite and just move on rather than try to belittle others.

I'm also incredibly into music (more so than anything else) and I've been called a hipster before. The difference between a hipster and myself is that I take a genuine interest in the things I like (whether they are popular or not it makes no difference) -- it just happens to be the case that a lot of musicians I like are not particularly popular, or rather, are relatively unpopular, since most things have a decent enough audience. Hipsters, on the other hand, typically aren't passionate about anything. It's an image thing, they can't be seen as being mainstream because it's bad for their "cool" image. I don't think it's ever really about the music (or whatever) for them.

I'd just prefer people to be passionate about things that hold deeper value than, for example, cartoons they watched (and happen to remember) from their childhood.

[streetwaves]

Well, I still don't necessarily think that complaining about these types of people really does much good, but I can see where you're coming from.

For instance, I'm really, really into music. A lot of people might call me a hipster because of some of the music I listen to, and yet I probably would take at least slight offense to that label. I don't think it's a big deal or anything, but yeah, I don't want people thinking I'm a hipster in much the same way you don't want people calling you a nerd. I see hipsters as people with almost entirely predictable interests, and whose knowledge of the subject is pretty much limited only to what's seen as "cool" to be into.

Still, what's the point in complaining, really? I don't really see what could come of it, and I think there's the danger there of coming off like a pretentious dickhead instead of just having some people mistake you for a nerd (same thing I have to be conscious of). What's worse? Frankly, I think it's probably best to stop giving a shit what anybody thinks of you and your interests.

Dig the avatar by the way.

Yeah, complaining about it probably doesn't do much good, since it's not like it's going to change anything. I suppose this was more just a way to vent -- since it frustrates me not being able to have a decent conversation with anyone in real life. Of course, I never ever say any of these things to people I know, because like you said, I don't want to come across as pretentious (or an all around prick), but instead I think it's courteous to be polite and just move on rather than try to belittle others.

I'm also incredibly into music (more so than anything else) and I've been called a hipster before. The difference between a hipster and myself is that I take a genuine interest in the things I like (whether they are popular or not it makes no difference) -- it just happens to be the case that a lot of musicians I like are not particularly popular, or rather, are relatively unpopular, since most things have a decent enough audience. Hipsters, on the other hand, typically aren't passionate about anything. It's an image thing, they can't be seen as being mainstream because it's bad for their "cool" image. I don't think it's ever really about the music (or whatever) for them.

I'd just prefer people to be passionate about things that hold deeper value than, for example, cartoons they watched (and happen to remember) from their childhood.

Music's my thing, nothing else comes particularly close. I've had to talk to hipsters who got talking to me because they know I like X band that's cool to like, and then the conversation just really falls off when I start talking about stuff that's arguably better or more interesting but that nobody's heard of and thus won't result in cool points for liking. Similar thing with the nerd stuff. Most "nerds" bore the hell out of me, even though they're supposedly like-minded people.

Hell, I don't remember the last decent conversation I had with someone in person on the subject of music or anything else I'm really passionate about. I kind of gave up worrying about these people and whether they're genuine, though. Sometimes I try to make the best of the conversation and try to introduce them to something that they probably hadn't heard of before, but in the end it's usually going to be in vain. Occasionally it won't be, and they may even offer something interesting back, and that's always a pleasant surprise.

[Hyo Razuki]

[color=#00FF00 'I liked all this stuff before it was cool'.[/color]

This. You know, the funny thing is, I can easily see that happen to the Shenmue community. Immagine S1 and 2 get ported to PS4/PC and S3 turns out real succesfull. I can already see the discussions on here begin. Like a 35 year old die hard Shenmue fan telling a 15 year old new Shenmue fan: "What are you talking about, Shenmue 2 on PS4, youngster? I used to play Shenmue 1 on Sega Dreamcast way back in 99. I even imported the Japanese version and beat it before the game was even translated to English. We didn't have no waiting option for S1 back in 99. It was tough, but we made it."

@Thief:

I do agree that those overly nerdy people are annoying, especially if they're not real nerds but are pretending so just because "nerd" is considered cool right now, the same way that type of people pretended to be "Punks" when punk rock was cool. My point is however that one should not hate people for such trivial things. It's not gonna change other people.

Also this jock vs nerd antithesis the OP (not you, Thief) tries to construct here is not the case in real life. He paints it very black/white which real life isn't.

I guess in the end it also depends on what experiences you have made in your real life. I did meet the kind of people you describe as the type of guy surrounding themselves with pointless talk about some super obscure topic a "normal" person wouldn't even know about, like Final Fantasy 6 or the power of Dragon Ball Z Goku vs. Dragon Ball GT or some bullshit like that. But most people I know who call themselves nerds are not like that. Like the friend I described above. Yeah, he could lecture you about the specifics of all current cell phone models or about Star Trek or obscure video games for hours, but he's still a normal guy who has a girlfirend, does sports, reads non-nerdy books and so forth. In fact most nerds I've met are like that.

I think it is that obsessed type you are annoyed with and I definitely agree that this type of people exists but most "nerds" are not like that from what I've seen. What is your experience? Is that annoying type the most prevalent kind of "nerd" where you live?

[Riku Rose]

The Shenmue sections of this forum make me roll my eyes in a I find this funny way. The amount of people that get pissy when a website writes how they didn't like Shenmue and everyone starts throwing a tantrum and says they just like stupid FPS's and how they only care about crap games. I've also seen plenty of people who pretty much say that people who don't like Shenmue just don't get it which makes them sound like such a pretentious wanker.