Nerd

For other uses of the term, see nerd (disambiguation).

Nerds in art and literature

Dramatic depictions of good nerds typically have them as good-hearted people who wish harm on no one, but whom their obvious intellectual inferiors bully. Many nerds in fiction play roles as supporting characters who provide valuable sources of information or useful skills for the heroes. Nerds as lead characters often have a secret identity as a superhero; so a put-upon person has a wonderful secret. Nerds in supporting roles often feature as technological geniuses who invent or repair plot devices that enable the main characters to move towards a goal. They also serve as socially inept foils to much more charming main characters.

Related Topics:
Secret identity - Superhero - Plot device

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Evil nerds, typically embittered through a lifetime lived as a social outcast and seeking revenge upon the world, provide a popular archetype for the supervillain, often as a mad scientist.

Related Topics:
Supervillain - Mad scientist

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Nerds in anime often wear round white opaque glasses, with or without a spiral drawn on them. If they wear transparent glasses, they like to adjust their glasses so that they reflect light, and give an intimidating feeling. These characters usually play more important parts in the story than in western entertainment, probably due to the Japanese culture's emphasis on academic work and studies rather than on social success. (Note that people who make anime or manga would themselves often qualify as otaku or nerds.)

Related Topics:
Anime - Manga - Otaku

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In the 1990s, "nerd" developed distinct positive connotations within social spheres connected to computing and the Internet, to denote with pride a technically skilled person. This also extended towards financial success in these fields, with Bill Gates himself often described as a nerd, though a remarkably wealthy one. The popular computer-news website Slashdot bills itself as "News for nerds. Stuff that matters."

Related Topics:
1990s - Computing - Internet - Bill Gates - Slashdot

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Non-nerds often think of nerds as intelligent yet socially awkward people. Stereotypically, in high school, the more "popular" or more socially adept teens often ridicule and bully those labeled as nerds, who have a reputation of engaging deeply in academic areas. Nerds generally express an above-normal interest in complex subjects and often function as polymaths. Topics dealing with computers and technology, comic books, role playing games, classical music, artificial intelligence, anime, film, science fiction and fantasy literature have become heavily associated with nerds.

Related Topics:
Teen - Polymath - Computer - Technology - Comic books - Role playing games - Classical music - Artificial intelligence - Anime - Film - Science fiction - Fantasy literature

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Because of these tendencies, some have noticed similarities between nerdy behavior and the neurological disorder of Asperger's syndrome. No studies have shown a correlation, causal or other relationship between the two; only anecdotal evidence suggests a connection.

Related Topics:
Asperger's syndrome - Anecdotal evidence

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