The term ‘nerd’ has taken on a number of meanings over time. It was once used to refer to a person who is socially inept or exceptionally good at science or math. It sometimes still is used in this way; however, a much more common understanding is that it refers to a person who is exceptionally passionate about a subject. This vagueness has led an increase in the number of people who classify as a nerd and the values within ‘nerd culture’ are causing conflict.
One video, where Wil Wheaten, a fellow nerd, discusses why being a nerd is awesome. He defines a nerd as not what you love, but how you love it. He discusses the idea that anyone can be a nerd and there are subgroups for everyone with other people who “love the same things in the same way you do.” This is a more contemporary view which shows how being a nerd has become is more mainstream and less of a negative connotation. He discusses being a nerd in a very positive light which is exactly what you would expect from a welcoming community.
Next, from the Geek and Sundry channel on Youtube, two of the vloggers discuss “Nerd on Nerd Hate.” Like Wheaton, they expect the community to be welcoming to newcomers, but explain that it isn’t always the case. If we understand being a nerd to mean someone who is passionate about something, conflict arises between nerds when someone is less passionate or knowledgable than them, or even if they are passionate about something else. These differences are understandable because, as they explain, every community has its own form of diversity. But diversity can sometimes lead to problems.
The last text, by Benjamin Woo, discuss a study done which tries to understand the nerd community. He interviewed several self-identified nerds and asked how they would define it, but the results were very inconsistent. Sometimes it can be considered positive and in some instances nerd is still considered an insult. He generalized the definitions to come up with the idea that nerd refers to people who are “particularly enthusiastic about their hobbies” (660). He also found that two of the main values of nerds are knowledge and collections (661). Nerds try to prove themselves by being the most knowledgable or having the best collections. It is a way of showing their self-worth. Woo then explains that nerds have become a larger part of popular culture; they are more “mainstream, perhaps even ‘cool’” (665). This has led to more diversity and new genres. With this, values are changing and vary from person to person. It even leads to rivalry between subgroups of nerds.
The problem with the nerd community is also what makes it so great. It is accepting of all types of people and has become very diverse, but this has led to the misinterpretation of values. The term nerd is hard to define and means something different to each person. By being passionate about different things and more or less knowledgable, nerds think less of other nerds. Knowledge and passion are difficult values to assess because they mean different things to different people. It is their greatest triumph which is also the greatest downfall. Rather than creating a welcoming group, they are isolating each other. There are many subgroups within nerd culture that create a place for each other. For example, the Doctor Who fandom values this show and knowledge about it. However, its members may look down on people who enjoy Firefly and not Doctor Who or people who just started watching the show and know less about it.
We can use Williams’ lens to understand this problem further. He defines an ideal as a way the culture works toward perfection. In relation to the nerd culture, this would be their goal of having the most knowledge on a subject. The documentary Williams refers to can be the many types of texts and genres that are produced. It only depends on the group and subgroups passions. Episodes of Doctor Who is only one example. Another may be the Lord of the Rings series. Other nerds may be passionate about physics. Because of the nature of this culture, it is hard to create a tangible list of its documents. The social aspect of his lens is the way nerds absorb the documents. It is the way they demonstrate and live their passions. Bias is a huge problem, certainly part of the larger issue, because each subgroup within nerd culture will explain being a nerd in a different way. They will have different passions and different ways of life. Because of this, it is hard to describe the ’style’ of nerd culture other than a passion for knowledge. By defining these elements we can see that the shared belief of nerds has become a source of contradiction. It was only inevitable that once a group which started small and had shared bonds grew so large, the people in it can no longer feasibly share all of the same values. I question whether nerd culture can remain as it grows to be more mainstream. If being a nerd means to be passionate about something, aren’t we all nerds? Certainly we don’t all share the same values and if this is the case, a culture without the same values can no longer be considered its own culture any longer.
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