Nerd

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File:Nerd.jpg

Robert Carradine as the archetypal nerd, Lewis Skolnick in Revenge of the Nerds

Nerd is a term often bearing a derogatory connotation or stereotype, that refers to a person who passionately pursues intellectual activities or esoteric knowledge rather than engaging in more social activities. Therefore, a nerd is often excluded from physical activity and considered a loner by peers.

Lee Birtwistle is a NERD

Characteristics

The stereotypical nerd is intelligent but socially and physically awkward. In film and television depictions, nerds are disproportionately white males with glasses and braces. It has been suggested by some, such as linguist Mary Bucholtz, that being a nerd may be a state of being "hyperwhite" and rejecting African-American culture and slang that "cool" white children use. However, after the introduction of the Steve Urkel character on the television series Family Matters, nerds have been seen in all races and colors. Further, the term and its use predate the popularity of African-American behavior mimickry in some whites, which did not really take off in significant levels until the early 1990's. Also, many popular whites haven't acted or dressed in an African-American style at all, such as the grunge trend, for example.

They typically appear either to lack confidence or to be indifferent or oblivious to the negative perceptions held of them by others, with the result that they become frequent objects of scorn, ridicule, bullying, and social isolation. They show a pronounced interest in subjects which others tend to find dull or complex and difficult to comprehend, especially topics related to science, disambiguation, mathematics and technology. Nerds are often portrayed as either obese or incredibly thin. They are also stereotyped to playing role playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons and other things relating to fantasy and science fiction. They are also stereotyped for being obsessed with Star Trek, Star Wars, and other science fiction shows or movies.

Nerds and Asperger syndrome

Many traits associated with the nerd stereotype—an unusual penchant for accumulating highly specialized or technical knowledge, impaired social ability, and/or occasionally poor motor coordination—are characteristics of Asperger syndrome, an autism spectrum disorder. The existence of the nerd concept in the popular consciousness may be attributed to covariance between certain behavioral and cognitive predispositions, which at the extreme results in forms of autism. Studies using the Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ), a measure of autistic tendencies, find that occupations commonly linked to the nerd stereotype are associated with elevated AQ, with the highest average AQ seen among computer scientists, mathematicians and physicists. Other studies have found associations between heightened AQ and prenatal testosterone exposure as well as genetic factors, suggesting a distinct genetic and developmental basis for traits associated with the nerd stereotype.

Nerd pride

In the 1984 film Revenge of the Nerds, starring Robert Carradine and Anthony Edwards, Carradine in particular worked to embody the nerd stereotype and, in doing so, helped create a definitive image. Additionally, the storyline presaged, and may have helped inspire, the "nerd pride" that emerged in the 1990s. American Splendor regular Toby Radloff claims this was the movie that inspired him to become "The Genuine Nerd from Cleveland, Ohio." In the American Splendor film, Toby's friend, American Splendor author Harvey Pekar, was less receptive to the movie, believing it to be hopelessly idealistic. Many seem to share Radloff's view, as "nerd pride" has become more widespread in the years since. MIT professor Gerald Sussman, for example, seeks 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 1993

The popular computer-news website Slashdot uses the tagline "News for nerds. Stuff that matters." The Charles J. Sykes quote "Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one" has been popularized on the Internet and incorrectly attributed to Bill Gates. In Spain, Nerd Pride Day has been observed on May 25 since 2006.

An episode from the animated series Freakazoid, titled "Nerdator", includes 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.

The Danish reality TV show FC Zulu, known in the internationally franchised format as FC Nerds, established a format wherein a team of nerds, after two or three months of training, competes with a professional soccer team.

Nerdcore hip hop is a genre of hip hop music that has risen in popularity over the last few years, often expressing nerd themes with pride and humor. Notable artists include MC Plus+, MC Hawking, MC Lars, and MC Frontalot. The term nerdcore has seen wider application to refer to webcomics (most notably Penny Arcade, User Friendly, PvP, and Megatokyo) and other media that express nerd themes uninhibitedly.

References

Lori Kendall. "OH NO! I'M A NERD!": Hegemonic Masculinity on an Online Forum. Gender Society. 14:256. (2000)
Ron Eglash. Race, Sex, and Nerds. Social Text. 20: 49 (2002)
Benjamin Nugent (July 29, 2007). "Who's a Nerd, Anyway?". New York Times Magazine. Retrieved 2007-07-28. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
S. Baron-Cohen, S. Wheelwright, R. Skinner, J. Martin and E. Clubley, The Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ) : Evidence from Asperger Syndrome/High Functioning Autism, Males and Females, Scientists and Mathematicians, Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders 31, 5-17 (2001)
Rebecca Knickmeyer, Simon Baron-Cohen, Briony A. Fane, Sally Wheelwright, Greta A. Mathews, Gerard S. Conway, Charles G.D. Brook and Melissa Hines. Androgens and autistic traits: A study of individuals with congenital adrenal hyperplasia. Hormones and Behavior, 50, 148-153 (2006)
Francesca Happe, Patrick Bolton, Lee M. Butcher, et al. Genetic heterogeneity between the three components of the autism spectrum: a twin study. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 45:691 (2006)
Singer, Jon (2005-08-28), "Carradine hits the jackpot as Lewis Skolnick", Lumino
Hensley, Dennis (2003-09-02), "Revenge of the nerd: American Splendor's Toby Radloff is out and proud about his sexuality and his nerddom", The Advocate {{citation}}: Check |author-link= value (help); External link in |author-link= (help)
Mikkelson, Barbara; Mikkelson, David P. (2000), Some Rules Kids Won't Learn in School, retrieved 2007-07-22

Documentaries

Genuine Nerd (2006) - Feature-length documentary on Toby Radloff.

External links

"The Well-Dressed Geek: Media Appropriation and Subcultural Style" (Paper by Jason Tocci presented at the MIT5 conference]. PDF, 180kb).
"Why Nerds are Unpopular" An essay by Paul Graham about the conformist society in American highschools.
"The Nerds have won", an article in the American Scientist
The Otaku Group From A Business Perspective (PDF, 366kb). Japan, 2004.

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