NERD: Good, or bad???

A lot of people have been debating on various threads on whether being called a "Nerd" is a good or a bad thing. So, here we debate! Is being called a "Nerd" good, or bad? WHY?

[MrForbes]

If you're on a team who's name is the Nifty Engineering Robotics Design Squad, then it can only be a good thing

[flippy147852]

Being a NERD is absolutely a good thing. How many people can say that they built a fully functional robot in 6ish weeks?

Also, if you look at people who have changed this world for the better by giving the world something new, a lot of them are NERDS (Bill Gates, Dean Kamen, and Mark Zuckerberg immediately come to mind. ) Being a NERD bay not be cool to the masses just yet, but being one reaps multiple benefits.

I, for one, think being called a "Nerd" is something to be proud of!

A quote by someone on another thread: "Nerds are just intellectual badasses.

[Grim Tuesday]

In my group of friends, nerd is a good thing. I don't know what it means to the school's jocks, though.

[Jon Stratis]

It's all about self perception. If you let the term nerd be a bad thing, it will be. If you take pride in your abilities that other people think make you a nerd, then it'll be good. If someone tries to call you a nerd in a derogatory way, it's pretty easy to say "Yeah, I am. By the time you graduate college, you'll wish you were, too!" I have my 10 year high school reunion coming up this summer, and as a result I've been looking up all my old classmates on Facebook and other social networking sites. Those "cool" jocks aren't all that cool anymore - they're off making minimum wage in dead-end, boring jobs. The nerds I hung out with are doing interesting things with great opportunities before them - heck, one gets to play with lasers all day!

[548swimmer]

Its a great thing!

If there's one thing that I can't stand about being called a nerd though, it's when people don't let me explain what "being a nerd" truly means. "Being a nerd" means that you're smart, dedicated, have slightly antisocial tendencies toward outsiders, and above all else are committed to the pursuit of knowledge.

[TEE]

Originally Posted by SuperNerd256

A quote by someone on another thread: "Nerds are just intellectual badasses.

lol

OP: It depends on your connotation of "nerd". Nerd could mean an intelligent expert in a particular technical field, or else it could be a derogatory term signaling social failure. I prefer the first meaning

[synth3tk]

A little déjà vu that I posted in a recent thread:
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nerd
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/nerd
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nerd

And now for my two pennies.

Based solely on the definitions that I've linked to, I'd lean on the "negative" side. While we could go on a mission to redefine a word that has been around longer than FIRST itself, I think we're better off pushing that term to the back of our mind when it comes to describing the [widely-varied] participants in the program as a whole.

FIRST, while being a very tech-minded program, attracts all sorts of people. Some of them go on to be business entrepreneurs, others graphics designers, and, of course, engineers, programmers, and everything in between. So to assume that the star basketball player or the girl who is the leading role of the school play are nerds, is wrong. At Buckeye (the only regional I've ever attended), I see all sorts of people, some who would (rightly) be offended by being called a nerd. They listen to all sorts of music, they're from various parts of the city, some of them are really outward people. But because they're a part of an activity that involves a bit of science, they should automatically be labeled a 'nerd'?

And to be honest, even those of us who ARE techies or engies and are a part of FIRST aren't "nerds" in the true sense of the word. For one, if we're so darn socially awkward, why are we interacting with a group of people for 6+ weeks, then going to a large event akin to a sports game and mingling with hundreds or thousands of others? And as I mentioned earlier, some people are a part of their school's athletic programs, so they must be at least somewhat physically fit.


I know my long posts are generally full of flawed logic and rambling, my point is, unless you can convince the dictionary (and our entire society) to redefine the word, it's best not to apply it to an entire organization that represents a huge range of personalities, some who are anything but nerds.

[TEE]

I didn't read where this post came from (until just now) and so here's my serious response.

I'm willing to bet that within the FIRST community, when most people think "nerd", they think smart and unique, and so in this way, "nerd" has a positive connotation.

In (pretty much) the rest of the world, "nerd" means socially inept or weird, a negative connotation.

In the context of this issue (relating to the world outside of the FIRST community), I would say being called a "nerd" would be bad thing unless its definition is somewhat changed.

Originally Posted by synth3tk

FIRST, while being a very tech-minded program, attracts all sorts of people. Some of them go on to be business entrepreneurs, others graphics designers, and, of course, engineers, programmers, and everything in between. So to assume that the star basketball player or the girl who is the leading role of the school play are nerds, is wrong. At Buckeye (the only regional I've ever attended), I see all sorts of people, some who would (rightly) be offended by being called a nerd. They listen to all sorts of music, they're from various parts of the city, some of them are really outward people. But because they're a part of an activity that involves a bit of science, they should automatically be labeled a 'nerd'?

1. "Nerd" doesn't mean you're socially awkward, or strange in any way. I have no idea where you've been, but at every competition I've been to, all of the "Nerds" are there, being more social than any other person I've known! They're there, dancing and singing, talking with other teams, and doing the coolest and funniest things no one else would ever be able to do!

2. There is no assuming everybody who does robotics is considered a "Nerd". That is your choice. If you prefer to be called a "Nerd", then so be it. If you think the term is considered offensive, then that's just how you think.

"Being a Nerd is like a religion. You can choose to be one, and anyone can become one. Being a Nerd requires no current skill in computers, good grades, or high thinking in math and sciences. Being a Nerd is wanting to become part of the great culture that Nerds have created. People who are Nerds, look around you. When you are around your friends, or at a competition, or even in your very own home, what kind of people do you see? You have been part of a robotics competition, and not only has that changed you, but it has benefitted everyone around you. Imagine what all of your friends and family would be like if you had never joined a FIRST team. Because YOU have become a Nerd, everyone around you has benefitted. Whether they are learning more about computers or robotics, or whether they have just become a better person overall from being introduced to Gracious Professionalism.

Now, everyone who says they're not a Nerd, look at what I said above. If you have affected the people around you in a positive manner because of joining a FIRST robotics team, then congratulations; You have at least one thing in common with those who call themselves Nerds".

-Quote by Rick Guptill (Team 256 mentor), when giving a speech to the team, and other people who came to visit.

[flippy147852]

Originally Posted by TEE

I would say being called a "nerd" would be bad thing unless its definition is somewhat changed.

Change the meaning of NERD to mean something positive? Challenge Accepted. Done by being a part of FIRST Robotics.

Originally Posted by flippy147852

Change the meaning of NERD to mean something positive? Challenge Accepted. Done by being a part of FIRST Robotics.

Sounds great! So, the FIRST question: What will be decided as the definition of "Nerd", and how do we get it into the dictionary?

[demosthenes2k8]

A teammate says "good", I say "kinda negative, I prefer geek."