Are you a Nerd?

Are you a Nerd?

What is a nerd anyway? Is it someone who wears glasses or plays video games? Is a nerd someone who gets good grades or likes to study? Is it someone who gets involves with academic topics like sciences or mathmatics? There's not a real definate answer. I believe it is determined by our culture and what is deemed as being nerdy.

 

Lets examine the last few decade and what our society defines a "Nerd" being. Currently, the definition of nerd as defined on Dictionary.com is:

1.

a boring or unpopular person, esp one obsessed with something specified: a computer nerd

2.

a stupid and feeble person Now this definition may only be a stereotypical explanation of what a nerd is. Someone who is called or thinks themselves a nerd may not be unpopular or stupid just maybe passionate about something. Here are some things people who are considered nerds may be passionate about:   The Lord of the Rings books by J. R. R. Tolkien were written between 1937 and 1949, and started a fan favorite in the 70's but also in the last decade thanks to the Lord of the Rings Movies. During the late 1960's around 1966-67 started the original Star Trek Series that created a huge crowd following until today. There are many groups and conventions dedicated to this popular series.     May the Force be with you! When Starwars came out no one knew how big the movies would actually get. This science ficition film series started 1977 and was created by George Lucas. The first film was Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, and then came Episode V and VI. In 2005 three prequel films were released to tell the Story of how Luke's Father turned into Darth Vader. Recently, Disney annouced that they are working on a Star Wars Triology that annouced in 2012. In the 1980's there was funny film stereo typing the social life of nerds during that time and how they stopped being bullied by jocks. You may know this film title "The revenge of the nerds".     Now there is one show in particle that I used to watch as a kid that I thought showed what being a nerd was. It was in the 1990's and it was a young man who was stereotyped as a nerd because of his dress, demeanor, and intellect. Do you remember Steve Urkel? He was from the show Family Matters. It was one of my favorite shows.     As we get into our decade it seems like being a nerd has turned from being a negative thing to a positive thing. Being a nerd is not so much of a stigma but more of a cool fade. If you look at the series "Big Bang Theory" you will see that the defination of being a nerd is in a humorous way being more understood and our society is being more sympathetic and understanding.   So by looking at the past few decades and shows and passions that people are interested in you can see how the definition of nerd changes and I think towards the positive.