Coming from the other side, the most definitive of nerd hobbies, video gaming, has been compromised by the outside world. "Very high-IQ people are a minority group in … The other way to get attention, of course, is to completely fail at technology. We went to ask self-proclaimed nerds at the Starwars premiere what they think. report. Terms related to the derogatory use of the word ‘nerd’ should be considered a hate crime according to a psychology lecturer. Thanks for contacting us. You're almost done. Won't someone think of the dorks and dweebs? What else defines a nerd, then? Other phrases smart-arse and know-it-all are also in the firing line for discriminating against clever people. Your California Privacy Rights My friends always use "nerd" to describe an intelligent person, but when I searched its meaning online, I found that it's not really a good word. Separating out weird hobbies to make fun of made more sense in a time when people didn't have as much free time and didn't have as much technology, which kind of limited the amount of hobbies you could have. A year later, Newsweek reported on nerd’s popularity with slang-slinging youth of the day: “… someone who once would be called a drip or a square is now, regrettably, a nerd.” The problem with the Seuss origin theory is that it’s very unlikely teens (who probably weren’t reading Seuss) picked up the word and used it so much that it became a national story—in only a year. Now, how the hell did that come to be? On the program, Falck suggested that ridiculing someone with those two terms — and others like “brainiac” and “egghead” — should have legal consequences. The conniving coyote, upon seeing the Road Runner able to run through the fake tunnel, then attempts to […] People have splintered off so much into their own personal choices that almost nobody's favorite entertainment list matches anyone else's. And I'm not going to call you a nerd for it. To figure that out, we have to look at exactly what people think makes up a nerd these days. ", "Denise Richards plays a brilliant scientist who is also a stand for attaching large breasts.". People could have diverse opinions about Leave It To Beaver, but they couldn't express them by watching The Sopranos instead. Someone dressed like this would be a hipster. Or if it's hard to define a nerd by what they like these days, how … Nowadays, there are a million formerly weird and isolated hobbies that are mainstream enough you can take lessons for them or buy guided tours or watch TV shows dedicated to them. gietmay: Pavia_Resistance: What about calling someone a dork or a dweeb? Thanks for connecting! If anything was "indie," it stayed "indie" because there wasn't any goddamned mechanism for getting it to everyone. A UK psychology professor argued in a television show that calling someone a nerd is sort of a hate crime. Personally, I am a huge nerd. It's intended use is always an insult. People dress up as nerds for halloween, there are movies about nerds and often the narrative is driven that young nerds become successful adults. Or if it's hard to define a nerd by what they like these days, how about by what they do? But the person receiving this word has to decide which way they want to take it. There is absolutely nothing wrong with being a nerd, but if it pisses you off when people call you one, try a few of our great comebacks below. " Being called a geek is an insult, being called a nerd is a compliment. Over time, name-calling and other insults can slowly eat away at … The lives of computer moguls like Steve Jobs and the Google guys are actually envied by people. Post was not sent - check your email addresses! Nowadays, most self-made millionaires build their empires on some fancy computer trick, like building an online community gossip site (Mark Zuckerberg), getting people addicted to virtual farms (Mark Pincus) or stealing other people's operating systems (Bill Gates). A lot of people might think these pursuits are weird, but if there's a TV show or a bunch of companies offering lessons or you're getting a million views on the Internet, they'll accept this is as a real thing that lots of people like for some reason. In this new arrangement, the nerd is the one who's in a position to look down on the masses. People at the time did not picture these things making them into sexy billionaires. But they do feel like these hobbies have some kind of connection to a definable "nerd" personality that includes intelligence, so it feels more positive to call themselves a "Buffy nerd," than just a "Buffy fan." Now, that's pretty broad. See more words with the same meaning: a nerd, geek, dork. 12/23/2019, 7:39 am A British psychotherapist stirred up a social media squabble Thursday when she suggested on national TV that calling someone a “nerd” or “geek” should be considered a hate crime. We've Learned How Ancient Greek Music Sounded (And It Goes Hard), 4 Reasons the Guy Who Runs CNN is a Supervillain (Basically), Brands ... Leave The Slacktivism To Your Personal Accounts. You couldn't print your own records and mail them to everyone in the country. “I think with geeks and nerds, if you see it as a negative thing, it could be negative, but if you embrace it, actually to be a geek means a good thing.”, Still, Falck emphasized that “neurodiversity” — or the differences in people’s brains — “is an aspect of individual difference, which really ought to be recognized by society.”, “If you look at those legislations that relate to hate crimes, hate crime is simply about somebody being targeted in a negative way for who they are,” she said. Be a Joss Whedon or Dr. Who or Bleach fan. Continue Reading Below. Maybe it's time to drop the word and focus separately on each of the "nerd" traits we happen to have. NY POST — A British psychotherapist stirred up a social media squabble Thursday when she suggested on national TV that calling someone a “nerd” or “geek” should be considered a hate crime.. Dr. Sonja Falck, also a psychology lecturer at the University of East London, appeared on Good Morning Britain. Bonus points if it's made of Legos I guess. Terms of Use Go figure. Also he just discovered "The cake is a lie," and quotes it constantly. Dr. Sonja Falck claims calling someone ‘nerd’ or ‘geek’ should be a hate crime A British psychotherapist stirred up a social media squabble Thursday when she suggested on national TV that calling someone a “nerd” or “geek” should be considered a hate crime. Everyone seems to agree that wherever it came from, Happy Days popularized it, with episodes like this one where a She-Devil brings in a nerd for everyone to laugh at (Spoiler: It is Fonzie in disguise). If the guy that used to taunt you for playing video games is now wearing an ironic Valve trucker hat and chest-thumping to all his buddies about his kill counts and epic teabaggings and the booth babes he scored with at E3, you would understandably not want to chat with him about which Portal shirt would look cooler on him. It seems like almost everyone these days gets a little fannish over something most other people don't even know about, and wouldn't get, if that's what being a nerd is about. So I just think [it’s] an individual difference that should be respected.”. A certified nerd even. Sports was the defining mainstream hobby, and kids who couldn't do them filtered out to clubs with less physical activities, so those clubs got a reputation for having people who couldn't hack it with the top dogs. She explains that 'nerd' refers to someone with a depth of knowledge in a specific field or topic—making her a true word nerd—while geek now denotes … For more from Christina, check out 6 Groups Who Don't Work as Movie Bad Guys Anymore and 5 Reasons The War Between Dog and Cat People Needs to Stop. They're not making any claims about their own intelligence, unless we're considering a detailed knowledge of Farscape trivia to be a display of intelligence these days. Be socially awkward. Every kid who codes wants to be the next Mark Zuckerberg, Larry Page or Sergey Brin. Jimi Hendrix? Dr Sonja Falck, who is a psychology lecturer and psychotherapist, says that ‘divisive and humiliating’ anti-IQ insults are harmful and have a long-lasting impact–sometimes for an entire lifetime. So instead of calling our own set of traits "nerd things" and arguing with other nerds about why traits outside of our set aren't "real" nerd things, why not just say there's no definitive standard for nerdiness and let us all be the individual things that make us up? 124. Part of this is because of the many branches of the nerdosphere that have specific attributes suited to their interests (referred to as "obsessions" in the Venn diagram). That weird kid that figured out how to look up porn on the school computers isn't automatically a target for ridicule. Nerd - Tech and Science Tips, Reviews, News And More. Being called a nerd used to be a derogatory term, but nerds are now the new rock stars of our society. It was hard enough to get people to agree on what it meant before -- was it mainly about the rejection? Other people called them that, and then gave them a wedgie and drove off to Make-Out Point with the nerd's girl. There's a number of hobbies that have traditionally been associated with "nerdism," like ham radio, chess, bottlecap collecting and making scale models of anything. Which hobbies counted? Smarts have been associated with nerds from the beginning, describing people who would rather be studying than partying. Specifically, being a nerd is defined as “a foolish or contemptible person who lacks social skills or is boringly studious”. Dork was originally used back in the 60's and 70's in UK to mean someone who was not cool, not handsome, and not streetwise. 23 die in Norway after receiving Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine: officials, Wealthy Sweet'N Low magnate leaps to death from Park Avenue apartment, Trump planning payback for 10 Republicans who impeached him: report, Private jet-flying rioter plugged her realtor job as she stormed Capitol: prosecutors, Kelly Clarkson: Celebs were 'really mean' after 'American Idol'. But is it really so insulting to be called a nerd anymore? Commenters on the “Good Morning Britain” Twitter page largely shot down Falck’s argument. Even Urban Dictionary defines a nerd as, “The person you will one day call boss.” Being called a nerd used to be a derogatory term, but nerds are now the new rock stars of our society. It’s slang to call someone smart, ugly, and a social mess. Psychology lecturer and psychotherapist Dr Sonja Falck said the "divisive and humiliating" anti-IQ terms are hate crime's "last taboo". Brittany M. Hughes , @RealBrittHughesDecember. Calling someone a "nerd" is admitting they are smarter than you. Cracked is published by Literally media Ltd.. Years ago, a Far Side cartoon was rejected by some newspapers because it included the word "dork." 126,460, This story has been shared 37,207 times. He very well might be running his own company at 21. And apparently old people are really digging the Wii. Connect to your existing Cracked account if you have one or create a new Cracked username. I would argue that it’s actually more of a compliment in today’s culture. What does “nerd” actually mean? Should branding someone a 'nerd' be made a hate crime? | Gizmodo. The other reason they use the term is for the social outcast aspect, because they feel like the world judges them unfairly for memorizing entire Buffy episodes or getting married in Star Wars regalia. Nowadays, many, many people get so proud of being nerds that they get mad when anyone implies they are not a real nerd, and often write scathing rebuttals on the Internet. They want terms such as egghead and brainiac to be criminalised under hate speech laws. 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