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Nerd, as a stereotypical or archetypal designation, refers to somebody who pursues academic and intellectual interests, which may result in the expense of social skills such as: interpersonal communication, fashion, hygiene and physical fitness. Sun Rypes is an awesome example.

History

Some say that the term nerd was coined by Dr.Suess, in his book "Zoo".The term "nerd", meaning "square", goes back at least to 1951, when Newsweek reported the usage as relatively new in Detroit, Michigan. By the 1960s, it took on connotations of bookishness as well as social ineptitude. The word itself first appeared in Dr. Seuss's book If I Ran the Zoo, published in 1950, where it simply names one of Seuss's many comical imaginary animals. (The narrator Gerald McGrew claims that he would collect "a Nerkle, a Nerd, and a Seersucker too" for his imaginary zoo.) Another theory of the word's origin sees it as a variation on Mortimer Snerd, the name of Edgar Bergen's ventriloquist dummy. Yet another theory traces the term to Northern Electric Research and Development, suggesting images of employees wearing pocket protectors with the acronym N.E.R.D. printed on them. In the 1933 film, Dinner at Eight, Jean Harlow's character replies to her husband's suggestion that she might enjoy mingling with Washington "cabinet members' wives" by saying, "Nerds!... A lot of sour-faced frumps with last year's clothes on, pinning medals on Girl Scouts and pouring tea for the DARs..." Finally, oral history at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute holds that the word was coined there, spelled as "knurd" ("drunk" spelled backwards), to describe those who studied rather than partied. (This usage predates a similar coinage of "knurd" by author Terry Pratchett.) The term itself was used heavily in the American 1974–1984 television comedy Happy Days which took place in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in the mid-1950s.

In the 1940s, the word "weakling" or "wimp" was used before the word "nerd" was used widely. Comic book ads for Charles Atlas weights and workout books were often accompanied by a short comic strip about a skinny 'weakling' and his girlfriend at the beach. In the strip, a muscular bully kicks sand on the weakling. His girlfriend leaves him for the bully. The weakling exercises (using Atlas's weights) until he has bigger muscles than the bully. He then defeats the bully in a fist fight. The girl leaves the bully, and joins the former weakling again as his girlfriend. This simple comic strip may have shaped nerd-versus-bully storylines thereafter. The nature of the strip tapped into men's fears, hormones, and competitive instincts over women.

Popular Culture

Dramatic depictions of good nerds typically reveal them to be good-hearted people who wish harm on no one, but are bullied by their obvious intellectual inferiors. Many nerds in fiction play roles as supporting characters who provide valuable sources of information or useful skills for the heroes. Nerds as lead characters often have a secret identity as a superhero; in these cases, a put-upon person has a wonderful secret (examples include Peter Parker/Spider-Man and Clark Kent/Superman). Nerds in supporting roles often feature as technological geniuses who invent or repair various devices that enable the main characters to move towards a goal. They also serve as socially inept foils to much more charming main characters, and are sometimes depicted as being lovelorn and longing for attractive females who are beyond their status.

Nerds are often used for comic relief, for example by overconfidently making advances towards a woman they like but being rebuffed in a rude (but supposedly funny) manner. Sometimes they're made to be overconfident to the point of obnoxiousness, to make them seem 'deserving' of their poor treatment.

Evil nerds, typically embittered from a lifetime as a social outcast and seeking revenge upon the world, provide a popular archetype for the supervillain, often as a mad scientist. This suggests that these characters represent the subconscious cultural fear that the highly intelligent have the ability to do great harm, and a willingness to do it. This seems to be the modern equivalent of the portrayal of scientists in the science fiction "bug movies" of the 1950s, representing societal fears about the harmful effects that nuclear power might cause.

The total opposite of a nerd is shown in Jay Ward's "Mr. Know-It-All" cartoon segments. Bullwinkle, aka Mr. Know-It-All, thinks he can do certain things, when he cannot due to his stupidity. In the cartoons, Boris Badenov (or some other evil character) usually beats up Mr. Know-It-All. Meanwhile, the time-traveling duo from this cartoon series — Mister Peabody, a talking dog, and his boy, Sherman — are both nerds; they both sport dark-rimmed glasses, and the dog wears a bow tie.

Characteristics

Non-nerds often think of nerds as intelligent yet socially awkward people. Nerds generally express an above-normal interest in complex subjects and often function as polymaths. Topics dealing with science, computer, technology, comic books, complex board games (particularly chess, role-playing games, and wargames), classical music,artificial intelligence, manga and anime (see Otaku), video games, and science fiction, horror and fantasy literature books, TV shows and movies have all become heavily associated with nerds, as have conventions relating to these various topics.

Despite their crucial function as a class within modern society, there has been almost no serious and methodologically-reliable academic research published on geeks/nerds, apart from a handful of studies of their consumption-based fan cultures. Some commentators have noticed similarities between pronounced nerdy behavior and the neurological disorder known as high-functioning Asperger syndrome. The lack of studies of nerds means that we have no basis for proving such a correlation, causal or other relationship between the two types.

In the practice of psychology, geeks and nerds can be said to be Myers-Briggs Type Indicator INTP, ENTP or INTJ, and, in various cases, ENTJ. However, due to speculation over the difference of nerds and geeks, the types cannot be sorted into their subsequent classifications. Also, all types have the ability to be nerds, whereas the INTJ, INTP, ENTP, and ENTJ are near definites for being nerds. The INTP is the classic programmer type, INTJ the classic scientist type. However, due to the sterotypical shyness and social ineptitude associated with nerds, the INTP and INTJ are more likely to be classified into that group than their Extroverted counterparts. These two types are the Introverted iNtuitive Thinkers. As Introverts they are stimulated by thoughts and ideas, rather than people and things. They are often quite happy spending hours absorbed in solitary activities. As iNtuitives, they are more inclined toward abstract concepts and subtle connections than in concrete examples or direct experience. As Thinkers, they are more adept in logic and reason than feelings or emotions. This combination makes INT's masters of mathematics, logic, and science, but rather oblivious to social graces. Both INTJs and INTPs tend to be outwardly nerdy and actively rebel against social rules they view as irrational and meaningless. However, INTJs tend to learn to put on a facade of surface conformism to draw less attention to themselves. For example long hair is, not surprisingly, common with INTP men, whereas INTJ men would keep their hair cut low, and dress conservatively.

In the works of Riso and Hudson, specifically Understanding the Enneagram revised edition, page 180, point 10, the term "nerd" is used as a primary reference to (and indication of being) Enneagram type 5.

Differences From Geek

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Pundits and observers dispute the relationship of the terms "nerd" and "geek" to one another. Some view the geek as a less technically skilled nerd. Others view the exact opposite. Geeks are shown as technically skilled semi-non-socialites are portrayed in Best Buy's Geek Squad. Some factions maintain that "nerds" have both technical skills and social competence, whereas "geeks" display technical skills while socially incompetent; others hold an exactly reversed view, with "geek" serving as the socially competent counterpart of the socially incompetent "nerd," and call themselves "geeks" with pride (compare Geekcorps, an organization that sends people with technical skills to developing countries to assist in computer infrastructure development). Another view is that "geeks" lack both social competency and technical skills. Arguably, a "nerd" is a more self-controlled sort of person, while a "geek" can be something of a loose cannon — or at least more awkward in an obstructive way than a "nerd."

Another difference some people make between nerds and geeks are that nerds are more of "bookworms" whose interests are in the fields of academia, such as mathematics and science. Geeks are interested in computers and video gaming, or movies with large fanbases such as Star Wars. Some self-proclaimed geeks consider themselves "nerds with a wild streak." For example, while a nerd and a geek would both have the intelligence to do well on an exam, a nerd would spend the night before studying no matter the distraction, while a geek might be more likely to be tempted to spend the evening playing video games or chatting online. Geeks are also more likely to become involved with the counterculture. Often they may have more social success than nerds, but less personal and financial success, lacking ambition in some respects. While both groups are often thought of as intelligent and creative, nerds are more likely to be drawn into academic pursuits like science and mathematics. Geeks, on the other hand, are often drawn to fields such as music, film, and art. Both groups devote their time to learning, they just learn about different subjects and that changes both the way they present themselves and they way they are viewed by society.

Some regional differences may exist in the use of the words nerd and geek. Some claim that on the North American west coast the population prefers the term geek to nerd, while the North American east coast prefers the word nerd to geek, (see Ellen Spertus's web page on The Sexiest Geek Alive).

The word "nerd" refers to a person of "above-average intelligence" whose interests (often in science and mathematics) are not shared by mainstream society. By contrast, a "geek" is essentially a person who is fascinated, perhaps obsessively, by obscure or very specific areas of knowledge and imagination. A good example of this is found in an episode of the television show, Married... with Children. The protagonist, Al Bundy, complains about wearing glasses, saying he will look like a nerd. His friend, Jefferson Darcy, responds, "No, Al, you won't be a nerd. You're too dumb to be a nerd."

Thus a "nerd" is primarily marked as having a high intelligence and is not necessarily more fascinated with one subject any more so than another. A "geek", however, is obsessively fascinated with particular subjects, but is not necessarily attributed an above average intelligence. Thus a "geek" has the compulsion and drive to learn vast quantities of knowledge about a particular field such as computers, or Star Trek trivia, without high intelligence being assumed. Some also hold that the reverse is true, geeks being those with high intelligence, and nerds being those who obsess over obscure subjects. More than likely, the main confusion between the terms comes from their common association with specific areas of knowledge that seem to require a high level intelligence (for example, mathematics and science). Thus a "geek" who was obsessed by the pursuit of mathematical or scientific knowledge, might also be classified as a "nerd" as society considers such pursuits to be intellectual in nature and as requiring high intelligence.

Other Terms

Similar terms exist which are always insulting: dork, dweeb, goon, and doofus are a few examples. Anorak is a similar British term. These terms imply the lack of social skill suggested by the term "nerd", but imply none of the mitigating intellectual factors.

Another interesting comparison can be drawn between a "nerd" and a "tool." Whereas a nerd cares little about impressing others and has impressive intellectual skills, someone who is a "tool" has little utility to those around him yet cares deeply about impressing others and fitting in. A tool is trying too hard and fails; a nerd does not try at all.

Contemporary Pride

Many nerds are proud of the fact they are a nerd. In the 1990s, "nerd" developed distinct positive connotations within social spheres connected to computing and the Internet, to denote with pride a technically skilled person. This also extended toward financial success in these fields, with Bill Gates himself often described as a nerd, though a remarkably wealthy one. The 1990s is generally considered a time when the nerds finally "got their revenge", and many became fabulously wealthy as a result of the high-tech explosion. The popular computer-news website Slashdot uses the tagline "News for nerds. Stuff that matters." Similarly, the quote "Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one."—Charles J. Sykes, has been, ironically, populariesed by the internet and missatrributed to Bill Gates.

MIT professor Gerald Sussman aims to instill pride in nerds:

"My idea is to present an image to children that it is good to be intellectual, and not to care about the peer pressures to be anti-intellectual. I want every child to turn into a nerd - where that means someone who prefers studying and learning to competing for social dominance, which can unfortunately cause the downward spiral into social rejection."

—Gerald Sussman, quoted by Katie Hafner, The New York Times, 29 August 1994

The 1984 movie Revenge of the Nerds explored the concept of "nerd pride" to comical effect.

An episode from the animated series Freakazoid titled "Nerdator" has a plotline that involves the use of nerds to power the mind of a Predator-like enemy, who delivers a memorable monologue on the importance of nerds:

"…what they lack in physical strength they make up in brain power. Who writes all the best selling books? Nerds. Who directs the top grossing Hollywood movies? Nerds. Who creates the highly advanced technology that only they can understand? …Nerds. And who are the people who run for the high office of the Presidency? No one but nerds."

There is an increasing number of people, especially women, who self-identify with the term nerd as badges of honor in their field, usually science, computers, and other technology. They may also do so as a statement of non-conformity or as a desire to be seen as eccentric. Even if they meet the standards requiring intelligence, many of them do not fit the traditional definition that includes some degree of social ineptitude or alienation. They may profess to grok (the understanding or use of the term often being associated with "geeks" or "nerds") the struggles of traditional nerds even if only as a form of lip service. Given the traditional gender differences, female nerds tend to be more often self-styled than pejoritavely labelled. Also, because shyness, introversion, and other geek-related personality traits are tolerated more in females than males, they are far less likely to experience peer alienation.

A recent incident of "geek pride" stems from a Doonesbury cartoon, 26 October 2005, in which Rochester Institute of Technology is referred to as a "geek school".

See also

• List of nerds in media
• Geek
• Dork
• Anorak (slang)
• Boffin
• Essay: "Why Nerds are Unpopular"
• High school subcultures
• Geek chic
• Fandom
• Asperger's Syndrome
• FC Nerds
• White and Nerdy

External links

• Quantumberry.com: Welcome to the geek The ultimate source for...everything, period.
• Wired The Geek Syndrome
• "Why Nerds are Unpopular" An essay by Paul Graham about the conformist society in American highschools.
• Nerd Point Nerd Community
• Revenge of the Nerds An essay written by Paul Graham
• Nerd defined in Urbandictionary
• Nerd defined in TechDictionary

• People
• Stereotypes
• Subcultures
• Slang expressions
• Stock characters