is it ok to be a nerd
is it ok to be a nerd?
i am a nerd (more a geek who knows to much 0_o) and it got me thinking, if we didnt have nerds we wouldent have all of this great tecknology, or wrongplanet 'o', and some of the biggest nerds have created things that revoltutionized the way we do things, bill gates has aspergers syndrome, (i dont know if he is a nerd but) he created computers, COMPUTERS FOR F*CK SAKE,
if he said,"screw it, im not gonna be a nerd" we wouldent have this forum right now,
in conclusion
is it "o.k." to be a bit nerdy
p.s. think about this, the popular kids at school wouldent know how to get a library card, but the guy in the corner reading books would know how to create a cold fusion reactor, and its the popular kids that pick on the guy reading books that set in motion the self hating that causes the production of that one cold fusion reactor that could solve our power and carbon emmissions for ever
i'm very glad i got that of my chest
CelticRose
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Yes, it's okay to be a nerd. As the OP said, this world needs nerds to function.
Besides, if there were no nerds, who would fix the computers?
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Wouldn't it be mainly that most people - including many aspies such as myself - find technical subjects in general so dull that they're bewildered that anyone could find your average school science lesson fascinating? It certainly looks like people find each other's personality differences a stretch to comprehend! {Many nerds, by the way, are not autistic, so I guess it's a personality issue_}
There might be some envy towards nerds involved, given how easy it is to acquire technical knowledge - without developing one's social skills - to the point where it can almost gaurantee a high salary-?
Actually, Gary Kildall did!! !!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Kildall
It IS interesting that he was born in the same place Microsoft started! He started BEFORE M/S, and created an O/S. ANOTHER company created a knockoff of that O/S for the 8086, and a little company called Microsoft "licensed" it. That knockoff O/S was renamed M/S DOS or PC DOS! Anyway, Kildall supposedly ALSO created the first high level language for PCs ALSO! TWO YEARS before M/S even started!
From wikipedia:
Kildall's colleagues recall him as creative, easygoing, and adventurous. In addition to flying, he loved sports cars, auto racing, and boating, and he had a lifelong love of the sea.[1][2]
Although Kildall preferred to leave the IBM affair in the past and to be known for his work before and afterward, he continually faced comparisons between himself and Bill Gates and fading memories of his contributions. A legend grew around the fateful IBM-DRI meeting (encouraged by Gates and various journalists), suggesting that Kildall had irresponsibly taken the day off for a recreational flight, and he tired of constantly having to refute that story.[7] In later years, he had occasional private expressions of bitterness over being upstaged by Microsoft.[2]
Kildall was particularly annoyed when the University of Washington asked him, as a distinguished graduate, to attend their computer science program anniversary in 1992, but gave the keynote speech to college dropout Gates. In response he started writing his memoir, Computer Connections.[9] The memoir, which he distributed only to a few friends, expressed his frustration that people did not seem to value elegance in software,[12] and it said of Gates, "He is divisive. He is manipulative. He is a user. He has taken much from me and the industry." In an appendix he called DOS "plain and simple theft" because its first 26 system calls worked the same as CP/M's.[13] Harold Evans used the memoir as a source for a chapter about Kildall in the 2004 book They Made America, concluding that Microsoft had robbed Kildall of his inventions.[7] IBM veterans from the PC project disputed the book's description of events, and Microsoft described it as "one-sided and inaccurate."[9]
Selling DRI to Novell had made Kildall a wealthy man, and he moved to the West Lake Hills suburb of Austin. His Austin house was a lakeside property, with stalls for several sports cars, plus a video studio in the basement. Kildall owned and flew his own Lear jet and had at least one boat on the lake. While in Austin he also participated in volunteer efforts to assist children with AIDS. In California, he owned a mansion with a panoramic ocean view in Pebble Beach.
[edit] Death
On July 8, 1994, Kildall fell at a Monterey, California restaurant. The circumstances of the fall remain unclear, with various sources claiming he fell from a chair, fell down steps, or was assaulted. He checked in and out of the hospital twice, and died three days later at the Community Hospital of Monterey Peninsula. The coroner's report identified the cause of death as blunt force trauma to the head. There was also evidence that he had experienced a heart attack, but an autopsy did not conclusively determine the cause of death.[13][14][15] He was buried in Evergreen-Washelli Cemetery in North Seattle.
[edit] Recognition
In March 1995, Kildall was posthumously honored by the Software Publishers Association (now the Software and Information Industry Association) for his contributions to the microcomputer industry:[2]
Introduction of operating systems with preemptive multitasking and windowing capabilities and menu-driven user interfaces.
Creation of the first diskette track buffering schemes, read-ahead algorithms, file directory caches, and RAM disk emulators.
Introduction of a binary recompiler in the 1980s.
The first programming language and first compiler specifically for microprocessors.
The first microprocessor disk operating system, which eventually sold a quarter of a million copies.
The first computer interface for video disks to allow automatic nonlinear playback, presaging today's interactive multimedia.
The file system and data structures for the first consumer CD-ROM.
The first successful open system architecture by segregating system-specific hardware interfaces in a set of BIOS routines.
At the time of Kildall's death, Bill Gates commented that he was "one of the original pioneers of the PC revolution" and "a very creative computer scientist who did excellent work."[1]
In our family, we kind of have the feeling that our whole family is nerds, and we don't much care for anyone who isn't. It's not that we don't like other people, it's just that we find others who are nerdy worth our time, whereas those who aren't nerdy just aren't interesting enough to be around.
Frankly, I think being a nerd is superior.
lionesss
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I'm not THAT smart but in high school I was called a nerd anyway. It's one thing to be a nerd and have brains but being a nerd without the smarts is a loser! Obviously that is how they saw me as. Sorry.. I am kinda in a bad mood tonight
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Yes. It is definitely OK to be a nerd. But you knew that already, didn't you?
The only people who think it's not OK are the people who are so closed-minded that they believe their own way of life is the only possible best way of life, and we all know that's not true.
Sure, there are people who aren't interested in intellectual things; there are people who wouldn't know how to find the "on" button on a computer. Those are the people who just aren't cut out to be nerds, because that's not where their strengths and interests lie.
But if you're the kind of kid that made the library staff form an assembly line every time you came to check out books, or you've got an intuitive understanding of logic, or Stephen Hawking and Einstein are your heroes... well, you're meant to be a nerd, and probably wouldn't be happy doing and being what the non-nerds like to do.
The only real problem with this is that often times the two groups (well, roughly two groups, as there are people who don't belong in either) will look at each other with a bit of scorn. The IT department looks down on the Business guys for not knowing to defragment their hard drives every once in a while (even though they're busy making connections and extending their social networks); the popular girls can't believe she's wearing THAT (even though she's got more things on her mind than fashion 'cause she's trying to figure out how to take the prize at this year's science fair).
Our culture does favor the popular, charismatic, non-intellectual sort of lifestyle, unfortunately; and that can make it easier to be biased if you happen to fit in with that kind of life. But there are enough nerds who look down on others who aren't as intellectually motivated to make it obvious that the problem goes both ways.
Don't try to be what you're not. The people-oriented life isn't right for everyone; neither is nerd-hood.
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There's nothing wrong with being a nerd, being interested in more intellectual pursuits, science, technology, etc., but I do find the label limiting socially. I'll take my interests just fine, but I don't want to be held back from enjoying my life by a label, so I prefer to just be myself personally.