NERD: Good, or bad???

Originally Posted by JamesBrown

Building on one of EricH's posts...

I am kind of curious what the people who have used the term jock in this thread consider a jock. Do you see that term having negative connotation, what attributes does a jock have? Are Jocks and nerds mutually exclusive?

I personally don't consider myself a jock or a nerd, I am a computer engineer with a strong interest in "nerdy" things (sci-fi, hobby robotics, general science and tech), however I also play rugby at a high level (LAU and territorial all-stars). I currently play for a team coached by a former professional rugby player (from England) who has multiple advanced degrees in engineering. I guess my question is if you classify some people as "nerds" and some as "jocks" how do you classify someone who often gets IEEE Spectrum delivered on the same day as Sports Illustrated?

The simple terms of "Jock" would be as follows:
Jock - One who plays sports.

Now while that's the simple definition, it doesn't mean anything good or bad. The same thing with nerd. It's neither defined as good, or bad. It's your perception of the words that counts. If you define being a nerd or a jock a good thing, then its good. If you define them as being bad things, they're bad. There is no set definition on whether any are considered "good" or "bad".

P.S: I respect you for doing robotics and sports. We had a guy on our team last year, who was captain of the football team, one of the head robotics members, and kept a 4.0 GPA. It's tough to balance out all of those things, especially demanding activities such as robotics and sports!