Nerds By Will Kesner
For a while now I have been fascinated with sub-cultures, and more than anything else the sub-culture of the nerd. I have wondered what exactly makes a nerd. The nerd has been accepted into the mainstream, not only in fashion design but in television shows and movies. Just twenty years ago the nerd was the butt of every joke, now seeing nerds come so far is part of what makes this so interesting to me. Many people are familiar with the stereotypes nerds have acquired over the years, unfortunately when people think of nerds they almost exclusively think of the stereotypes. The point of this article is to show people what a nerd does, not only to question some of the stereotypes but to provide some incite on what a nerd is. Inside the Mind of a Nerd He stands at five feet and nine inches, weighs 125 pounds and his sport of choice is not of the physical variety. As a young child he decided to quit a life of playing with toy trains and legos for his brand new Nintendo 64 and Super Mario 64. It was from this choice that his life was forever changed and his passion for gaming grew. However, feeling that there was a lack of technological know-how in his family, he began to pursue other technological interests. His growing expertise in computing and usage of gadgetry has served him well, and provided more opportunities for him to help his family. Many would not expect this gamer to be interested in sports as well, but he is. Most of his free time in elementary school was spent playing sports on his school teams or playing on his Nintendo. The feeling of intense competition while watching his favorite team or playing his favorite sport is something that has stuck with him. Engineering is the class that he finds most interesting. He sees new problems as challenges he would like to face. While driving to school he looks at traffic lights and bridges and thinks ,ĂŹ How can this be done better?ĂŽ. Many of his interests today are fueled by the video games he has played and the films he has watched, some some of the ideas that he wishes to implement in the future . Unfortunately for him he has not had the time to pursue another one of his interests, film.
Lincoln Race, playing a game In projects at school that were involved with film he has enjoyed the ability to express of his creativity. It came down to a decision between film or engineering and engineering won, there simply was not enough room in his schedule for both. Overall video gaming is his dominate interest. Though not his only one, it is the one he most enjoys and pursues to the greatest extent. He enjoys the fantasy of Legend of Zelda most of all. While he plays with other people he enjoys correcting those who make grammatical mistakes, and using new terms that many have not heard of yet. Being a cynical and pessimistic person online is one way he has learned how to earn respect, and get acceptance for the gamer culture. Single player gaming is a way he escapes. Especially this year, the pressures of his junior year have driven him to find fun ways to escape. By taking on the persona of the main character he becomes immersed in the fantasy, and a part of it’s world he finds he is able to relax.
The Nerd Today In the Mainstream The nerd is still less favorable socially than an athlete, but they are no longer untouchables. In the media the nerd is now portrayed as someone with exceptional skills in there profession. Many crime shows today host a person with exceptional intelligence and small amounts of social skills. While these hyper-intelligent people do their jobs they use their skills with mathematics, and computers. Today many shows portray nerds in high paying jobs doing things that most people can not do. Technological advancements have helped our economy grow and helped to protect Mountain View and Los Altos from some of the financial hardships that many people around the world now face. As part of my exploration of nerd culture I will show who helped make these technological advancements possible, and how they effected the nerd culture over time. From the prepubescent boy in The Breakfast Club to that pasty kid in Hacker,s the nerd has had many people try and cre-
ate a diffinitive charecterization of what a nerd is. In the 80s as I have already mentioned, the nerd was a joke someone who nobody wanted to identify with, but by the mid 1990’s the reaction to that kind of thought had already started. While not quite grown-up the nerd had become a symbol for tech savvy kids who were on the cutting edge of technology. The internet became one of the most important technological advances for nerds, and became extremely popularized during this time.
ful but impressive nerds continued this trend. In the early 1980s many saw that nerds were making a lot of money. New tech companies and there business leaders were all nerds. A sense of pride was then established, not only were they smart, but they had, in the publics view, a promising economic future. This did not mean that nerds were accepted yet, but this was the first time that they were able to determine something about their own identity.
Now a days a nerd is a very different creature. The Internet’s growth is the single largest contributor to this. With rapid exchanges of information those who were once social outcasts were given a forum of discussion and the tools to shape new lingo, hacks, games, and the way people socialize.
Teen movies of the nineteen eighties highlighted the class and social differences at high schools. The stereotype of the nerd from the 80s is what most people think of when this term is brought up. Until more recently nerds have not been able to determine their identity as mush as it has been projected on them. Also in the 80s some movies moved away from the negative nerd image and to some more positive and far fetched images of what nerds are.
The History of the term Nerd Though the term nerd was invented in the 1950 by Dr. Seuss, this cub-culture did not become heavily recognized until the the mid 1970s. At this time ìnerdî referred to a social outcast in high school or college who received good grades as well as harassment from jocks and frat boys. Until People saw that nerds could do things that were seen as not just useLeft to Right. Lincoln Race. Kyle Gruspe
As a response to the many negatives portrayals of what a nerd is and out of a search for a nerd identity, the cyberpunk was created. Instead of portraying a nerd as a socially inept and incompetent individual, the nerd was shown to be a superhero. During the nineteen-nineties nerd culture was
greatly influenced by this theme, and it remains influential on many online forums. As time passed and the Internet became faster and a large part of nerd culture came into being. Online gaming brought many nerds together for extended periods of time. Though nerds had existed before the early 1990s they had not communicated or played together over long distances. Games like Doom, Ultima Online, Warcraft, and Command and Conquer helped to define nerd culture by bringing them together. This is also where much of the lingo that nerds use came about. Instead of just referencing media people came up with their own terms, some of which spread. Many people now say pwned because of a spelling error, since then the term has stuck. The online gaming community created many aspects of what real nerds do today.
Some Thoughts on Nerd Culture from Members of the MVHS Video Game Club Will:By being an introvert does that automatically make you a nerd? Preston: Absolutely not, there are tons of introverts who are not nerds. Will: A lot of people see nerds and Japan as attached. Is that just because of game design and electronics or is it because people are actually interested in the culture? Preston: I think a lot of Americans see Japan as where we get our electronics from. Lincoln: Could not have said it better myself actually. Will: Now we were talking a little earlier about stereotypes, what are some of the stereotypes you think of? Preston: Has no friends. Lincoln: Lives in his Mom’s basement, eats hot pockets for every meal. Should I just describe my daily routine, is that what you want.[Has] no girlfriend. Will: Do you guys identify with any TV show as being spot on with what you [do]?
Left to Right. Preston Bunker, Lincoln Race
Lincoln: Well Pure Pwnage is a pretty good representation, I mean it is obviously geared towards more people in there twenties than the teens audience, but its basically, I would say, a pretty good representation of what a gamer is, but [without] the fantasy parts. Kyle: I say Mythbusters Preston: Mythbusters, oh ya Kyle: Physics Lincoln: Big Bang Theory Preston: The science channel
Will: What parts of those shows do you guys identify with? Kyle do you want to go first? Kyle: nothing comes up
Preston: Because nerds are into fantasy, that’s why we play video games.
Will: Video games like anime and other Lincoln: Well in a show like Pure Pwnage I fantasy provide people with an escape, why like the idea that the main thing they want to do you think that so many people who watch do is play games, they see things like work or anime and play video games want to find an school as like distractions from there overall escape? incentive, which is how I feel. Preston: Well probably because they don’t Preston: I don’t really associate with any have an alternate way to escape. Some people television shows. escape with music, other people escape with running. Being a nerd just means that you Will: What about anime, do you identify with escape using alternate means. any of that or why do you think a lot of nerds like anime. Will: Is it really just a way to keep from
socializing with other people? Is it a negative thing? Preston: Well not at all. People don’t play video games to not socialize with people, they play games so they can socialize with people. Lincoln: I would say that a good example of socializing would be our club, a lot of people now play video games with other people via online or via splitscreen multiplayer. Preston: Like I don’t even play single player games anymore. Will: So you guys would say that video games are actually bringing people together.
Preston: Yes, definitely Will: Social networks, not just facebook, but a lot of forums could be considered social networks. You find many people who are very knowledgeable about computers who are often talking to tons of other people. Are these a more common means of communication for nerds? Lincoln: More common as, say what? Will: Well, lets say most extroverts would socialize with each other by phone or in person, would you say that nerds would be just as open to communication over the Internet? Lincoln: I would say that at least now a days, hardly anybody would use the phone so much as to either just text or IM or facebook, so I don’t see any differences between that and how nerds communicate.
being invented pretty much with computers, and computers being open to the public? So would you say that the nerd did not exist before the 60s. Preston: Well it depends on how you define a nerd. Actually I think ya, I think that before the 60s nerds were like defines as people who stay in their mother’s basement building models and stuff like that. Will: So Kyle how do you define a nerd in your own words, or how would you define what you think of when you think of a nerd, not necessarily a stereotype, but a person who actually who would actually exist, and how would you define yourself? Kyle: From movies you see nerds as just weak people who just stare at a TV screen, but I don’t see anyone here who would do that kind of thing.
Will: So there is really no difference?
Will: So what would you define a nerd as?
Lincoln: I guess you could say that most extroverts tend to communicate with one person at a time, where as if you have someone with a phone [unclear]
Kyle: You can’t really categorize it’s not anyone different, same as everyone else [they] just do computers and video games.
Will: Preston do you have anything to add? Preston: Not particularly Will: How do you think this interview would have gone ten years ago ? Preston: Well much differently, because not everyone were nerds back then. Will: OK Lincoln: Well there were less people who played video games, but the people who played video games played them more. Preston: Probably Lincoln: Although we play video games a lot I would say that there are more people playing games less often. Will: So moving away from games, just computers. How, do we think of the nerd as
Kyle Gruspe
net speak if you make a mistake your going to Group: (laughs) be criticized heavily. Why do you guys think it’s so competitive? Lincoln: Another cultural reference. Preston: Because everyone wants to win.
Lincoln: Everything is competitive it’s not Lincoln: You want a definition, just somebody just video games. I guarantee you if you were who’s main activity either has to do with on a pro football field during an NFL Sunday computers or games. game like I just [explicative deleted] your Mom or something like that. It’s always, it’s Will: Alright, Preston would you agree with just human nature, if you win you are going that? to criticize the other guy. Preston: Ya I would agree with that, if someone’s main hobby involves video games or other activities that you generally do by yourself.
Will: Now it’s really competitive, people are often challenging each other in games and while using 1337speak (leet-speek) or Inter-
Lincoln: It is interesting that you bring that up though, the whole gamers automatically criticizing each other thing I would say that it is fairly common throughout human culture. Will: It is, but it seems much higher with this, is it just a whole bunch of testosterone in like one place.
Will: Ya, but it is so critical
Lincoln: I think that it is definitely adrenaline.
Lincoln: I think it’s mainly critical because there is such a availability of communication while you game.
Preston: Or maybe they are just trying to feel better about themselves because they have a suck-[explicative deleted] life.
Will: So there is a frontier of exclusion there, what’s involved with it, the frontier of excluWill: So it’s not seen as acceptable because sion for being a nerd or not? What’s the initiasuch an availability of information and people tion cerimony for becoming a nerd? see that they should know everything, so they should never make a mistake, is that what you Lincoln: Well one could say going to urbanare saying? dictionary.com Preston: Even once could taint you forever
Will: It is
Group: (laughs) Will: That is a point I was getting at, do you think they are so critical because [of selfesteem issues]
Lincoln: That is basically what I’m saying I guess.
Preston: If anything that’s what the true nerd does.
Will: Antsy Preston is antsy.
Will: It’s a self-esteem thing. Preston: Someone who really has no life, then
Preston: Someone who really has no life, then ya they would insult someone else for losing at the game.
Preston Bunker