Defining Nerdiness

[firstmutant]

On one of the neurology discussion websites that I frequent, my screen name, Neuronerd5000, was the focal point for an admittedly silly and unconscionably off-topic debate this weekend. As a result, I have been sent on a quest by the site's administrators to uncover the truth behind the dubious assertion that there are differences among the terms "

Comments

[socksandthecity]

I've always preferred the term 'geek', not because of any positive connotations, just because it sounds better.

[firstmutant]

Hm. You may have a point. Though I've chosen "nerd" merely for the alliterative possibilities.

[dave_rainbow]

I thought that was a highly sensible and pointed remark, even if I can only justify it in terms of Wolverine being a darker and more interesting figure :) And he fights like I do witnessing :)

[firstmutant]

The fangirl in me certainly agrees with you. As to whether she's highly sensible, well, that's still up for debate. The library children have now labelled me "geekus adultus." I'm fairly sure this is not a good thing...but we shall see. :)

[lonelywalker]

I have to disagree. Spiderman outclasses Wolverine in every department that is not described as "razor-sharp claws".

[firstmutant]

Oh dear. Yes, of course you do.

Curses, foiled again. I predicted that as soon as I mentioned X-Men, you would pop up, and I would have to defend my obviously indefensible assertion. Taking this into account, I tried to distract you with a quasi-linguistic topic. Clearly, that strategy didn't work. Darn.

Now I'll have to admit that at the time that statement was made, I was under the influence of a serious attack of fangirlery. *blush* But don't worry, Fiona. It's only a temporary condition. Common sense and logical thought processes will eventually return.

I hope.

[kincsem]

>>What's that? You were expecting only intellectual posts from me?

Not at all. We share the same awful taste in mutant television.

[firstmutant]

You're right. It's frightening, isn't it?

[kincsem]

And we aren't the only ones. MX fandom, especially Mason fandom, draws smart women, really smart women. This is scary stuff. I don't know what it means.

[firstmutant]

I am still hoping that the attraction is more about interacting with other intelligent women than about the show itself.

Personally, I am quite certain that I would never have paid much attention to Mutant X had I not found Pure to begin with. I might have continued to catch Season 3 episodes here and there until the end of the series, but I would never have seen the first season, much less thought about watching the second. Mutant X, while fun to watch, is not like Star Trek or even X-Men, which would have held my attention had there been an interesting fandom attached to it or not.

[gelf4]

Intellectual? No! (feigns surprise)

I was looking forward to more intellectualisms conversations with you. Quite a refreshing change from my usual dinner conversations (when I'm the idiot of the bunch)... :D

[firstmutant]

You're the weakest link? I seriously doubt it. :P

[gelf4]

Trying to keep up with all the math, chemistry and physics conversations, yes, I am the weakest link there. Give me geneology or music anyday!

[firstmutant]

You know about geneology? Cool! Teach me something. :)

[lonelywalker]

Important linguistic advice...

Any etymological explanation for a word that involves the word being an acronym is nearly always FAKE. Particularly if the word dates from anything past about 50 years ago. Very few words, apart from genuine scientific acronyms such as LASER and RADAR are really acronyms.

"Fuck" is not an acronym. "Adidas" is not an acronym. And "dweeb" probably isn't an acronym either, but I can't say for certain.

But, a dork is indeed a whale's penis. Er, and there's some other insult that's the word for a pregnant goldfish. Can't remember what, though.

[firstmutant]

Thank you! That's very good to know. Too bad I have already handed in my report, or I would have added that bit of information to it. Consensus summary: Nerd=smart, Dweeb=stupid, Geek=socially inept, Dork=whale's penis.

Once upon a time, someone told me that a pregnant goldfish was called a twit. I have since heard that is an urban legend. Never did look it up to find the truth, though.

[lonelywalker]

-consults dictionary-

dweeb: not certain, but possibly from the Scots (!) word "dweeble" meaning a weakling.

twit: apparently has nothing to do with pregnant goldfish. More's the pity...

[firstmutant]

Dweeb could be Scottish? Isn't that something?

Interestingly, according to theaquarium.net, goldfish don't even become pregnant. The female lays the eggs, and the male comes along behind her to fertilize them. Oh well. :)