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| Nerdy or cool? |
These days it seems just about anyone is willing to put on a pair of fake glasses and a Star Wars t-shirt to seem "nerdy".
But years of watching TV shows and movies that portrayed nerds as unattractive and socially incapable makes me wonder: when did being nerdy become so cool?
I consider myself a nerd, so I decided to do the most nerdy thing possible and look up the definition of the word.
The Merriam-Webster definition of nerd is, "an unstylish, unattractive, or socially inept person; one slavishly devoted to intellectual or academic pursuits."
The Urban Dictionary definitions are a little different. My favorite was this one:
"The unobtrusive man who sits in the back of the room with quite, knowing eyes, watching the comings and goings of all the ignorant people that are unaware their petty lives will one day be controlled and governed by this container of all that is awesome. He will strike with all of the rage and knowledge that his life of social abstainency and gaming gluttony has brought him in one swift blow. Fear me for I am The Nerd." -T. Nerd
That definition (along with many of the other definitions on Urban Dictionary) was written by a true nerd, as their Username suggests.
It was as I was scrolling through the definitions on Urban Dictionary that I found the answer to my question.
Well, sort of.
Instead of asking, "When did being nerdy become cool?" I should have been asking, "Who made being nerdy become cool?"
The answer: Bill Gates.
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| Now there's a nerd. |
That's right. In this new age of technology people look at Bill Gates as someone who is successful. He's one of the wealthiest people in America and he is also a huge nerd.
Same with Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg. Super nerdy and super rich.
So, the new idea is that success comes with nerdiness. Which makes being nerdy the new cool.
Now the question is, who is a true nerd and who is just trying to be cool? And how do you tell the difference?
XOLily
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