A Rant on "Nerds" and "Geeks"

by QTLing Wiseman (David Wise)

I am not accustomed to writing in such an informal style or in a style that is not strictly academic or professional. This is a little experiment where I rant and rave and otherwise try to impose my opinions on you, the reader. Hopefully, I won't be imposing them on you since I'm sure you are all capable of critical thinking and judging ideas and values for yourself.

Now that I gave you that disclaimer, time to begin. I'm sick of the labels "nerd" and "geek". We utilize these terms so much that they have no real meaning anymore. Today, almost everyone is a "geek" or "nerd" of some sort. There are anime nerds, science geeks, literature nerds, video game nerds, Starcraft geeks, film nerds...... the list goes on. Instead of distinct identifiers, "nerd" and "geek" have become generic, meaning "passionate about (insert hobby or subject here)". 

"Nerd" and "Geek" were unique labels in the 1980s and 1990s. These terms referred to pursuing certain pursuits and hobbies which stood outside the confines of what society considered mainstream (or if they were mainstream, an unusually focused interest therein). These included (obviously not limited to) the sciences, programming, engineering, and video games among other pursuits. The "nerd" label had a stereotypical fashion associated with it: huge glasses, buttoned-up shirts, and pocket protectors. The Revenge of the Nerds films beautifully epitomized this imagery.

These nerds were o.g.

It should be noted, that society didn't associate "nerd" and "geek" with the most flattering qualities. Sure, they were hard-working and super-smart and they would probably make millions with a computer start-up business but many also pinned nerds as socially inept, lacking in sex-appeal and physically underwhelming. The jocks would bully them and stuff them into lockers etc. Thus, nerds did not exactly "fit" into society. Nerds comprised a distinct subculture for better or worse.

Okay, Bill, perhaps I was wrong about sex appeal.

Western society in 2013, however, is fully accepting of nerds and geeks. No longer a subculture, Nerdism has fully engulfed our very lives as hot girls engage in open discussions on anime, ripped football players rave about the latest installment of their favorite video game series, Vin Diesel writes a foreword to Dungeons and Dragons, and I rant about Starcraft and esports (I'm too sexy to have been labeled a nerd in the 80s). Nerdism isn't just limited to the traditionally geeky pursuits: film aficionados,  literature buffs, foreign language savants and other passionate people have taken upon them the term as a symbol of dedication and focus.

However, nerds and geeks are so common that the terms have lost almost all meaning. Far from it for me to rage against linguistic evolution as I don't seek to impose any particular meaning to the labels. Rather, I would hope that society stops putting "nerd" or "geek" into every other paragraph, article, and interview. It's not that I advocate reverting to the 80s' definitions, but rather to know what they identify. "Nerd" and "geek" are so generic that a Revenge of the Nerds reboot could star Jason Statham just as easily as Wil Wheaton (I hate that guy so much) or Felicia Day.

Fun for the whole family.

Sure, there is still a residual feeling of what a nerd used to mean. The popularity of Wil Wheaton attests to the nostalgia we feel when looking back on old Star Trek episodes (although most people I know who watched The Next Generation hated Ensign Crusher). However, by and large there is such ambiguity when it pertains to Nerdism today. Today kicks off Youtube's "Geek Week". Can you predict what that encompasses? If you can, you are a far better nerd than I.