The stereotype has existed for a long time and I'm glad some pride is finally being associated with such interests which earn the label. And as the pride swelled, so did the marketing, posers, and exploitation.
I see it as a growing pain. The stereotype is being accepted and even glorified. There will always be the many empty individuals who latch on to some label and try as hard as they can to be something, be anything, just so they won't be nothing.
Maybe next time you see a person "posing" as a nerd try to be nice. strike up a conversation about something you like and ask them about what they like. If it appears they are "faking" you don't need to verbally assault them and stick up your nose at the "inferior brand of person."
Maybe even have the courage and confidence to try and cut through this label he or she wrapped themselves in and ask about their family, their "real" life. He or she probably is looking to fit in or for a friend, even if they aren't consciously aware of it.
I would say that the exploitation comes from a basic skimming of "nerd culture." 'Nerdism' is not so much about taking a subject and learning about it as profusely and intensely as you can, the main stream culture sees 'nerdism' as a vapid interest in sci fi, fantasy, math, and comics—or something along those lines.
Currently, it is more a fashion than anything—with the glasses and the plaid. I'm not going to be pulling rank on peoples' nerd levels either, that would be as repudiating as the culture the 'nerds' have always moved away from.
What bothers me is the caricature-like pastiche it all has become. Taking this show as an example and another that comes to mind is The Big Bang Theory, where 'nerds' are all follow the same quirky oddball stereotype that loves to speak in movie quotes and references.
It is pretty damn annoying. Even though you dawned a pair of glasses with thick rims and play the occasional video game, you are not a nerd. You still failed physics 101.
I see the acceptance of the 'nerd' culture, but it's not like society is encouraging high levels of education or creativity than it ever was. So the fad really left the valuable part of being a nerd behind, which isn't really surprising.
Really? Physics might not be the most intuitive of things, but personally, I find languages worse than physics.
And is it just me, but isn't physics 101 (or in my case, high school physics in class 1, 2 and 3) just one big exercise in finding the correct formula and filling in the correct values?
You would be surprised by how many people have difficulty with the plug-the-numbers-into-the-formula type of work. The major problem many students have is in identifying what the correct formula to apply is. Typically in algebra-based intro to physics the hardest any problem is going to be is two equations and two unknowns, algebra that should have been learned in early high school. But even if the algebra isn't a problem, getting some students to recognize which variable stands for what physical entity is sometimes harder than it should be. Maybe it is one of the downsides of letting everybody into college in the US. There are a lot of upsides to that, too, but its certainly a two sided coin.
I agree. It's not like the media is promoting the importance of better/higher education and the importance of constantly learning to better oneself. All they're doing is making the so called 'nerds' look like some terminally annoying snooty people. What is more infuriating, is putting the nerd label on anyone who has read a book. Go figure! Apparently the quality of the literature and knowledge is none of their concern as far as you look like a total dork and hold a book in your hand. I watched the commercial and cringed the whole time. Yikes!
I said this about Big Bang Theory while tabletop gaming at a Sci-Fi/Horror convention. The entire table went quiet, then one person fell to his knees and began to thank me for being brave enough to say it out loud.
Nope, not messing . . . though not sure how to prove that. It was 3 or 4 in the a.m. and most of our water and coke bottles were filled with not water, however.
This is exactly why I can't stand Big Bang Theory. Now Community on the other hand showcases some real(ish) people who happen to enjoy some "nerdy" things.
I've been pondering this for awhile, and my only conclusion: Doctor Who. The 10th Doctor, specifically. A smart, attractive, adventurous fellow (dat Tennant) who flies around the universe being funny and saving lives? Sounds like anybody's best friend. Every time I see a description of him online he's described as "Geek-Chic". He wears suits, thick rimmed glasses at times, always a little out-there, and yet seems perfectly friendly and complex, as far as people go. With the huge popularity of Doctor Who, and America's love of emulating Britain (Curse you, Spice Girls!), we had this coming, and we have nobody to blame but ourselves. You either die a Hero, or you resurrect often enough to see yourself become the Villain.
If you take away all the wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey stuff, it's just another boy meets girl show over and over again, with a bit of action and suspense thrown in. Honestly, I think the Doctor Who trend among nerdy girls stems from a sort of "I want to be rescued from my mundane life" mentality that plenty of girls - nerdy or not - idealize. Doctor Who just happens to be that guy for girls who like science fiction right now.
I never thought that my love of British comedy and television ever stemmed from my childhood obsession with the Spice Girls... but all that makes much more sense now.
Honestly, with the nerd thing I can probably live with ( labels change ), I just wish the "SCIENCE!!!" and "FOR SCIENCE!!!" meme would stop.
with the fascination with science fiction in the mid 1900s to the movies/tv shows 2001: A space odyssey and star wars and star trek, etc... the nerd was cultivated. It brought complex math, statistics and science into a realm of imagination and was only reinforced by reality with new science, and new technology being developed quicker with faster mediums to present it.
At some point nerd transitioned from an accusation of weak will and even poorer alpha clout to a term of endearment. From the endearment came a passion to strive, adapting the new technology with the necessary skills acquired as a nerd. These nerds became the content creators, the entrepreneurs, and the image of successful. They became the new macho, the new manly. Technology made new skills valuable and no longer is being the strongest, or exceptionally athletic keys to success (still have value in todays society) but intelligence can be just as powerful.
With that said, there is always a "root for the underdog" mentality in American culture (its part of our history) and nerds were the wise underdog, working smarter to outwit their opponent in order to be successful. This is really why the nerd sells.
fake it till you make it. you dont really need the interest in math and science to be a "nerd."