Garry sent me The Nerd Handbook via Rands in Repose, quite possibly one of the best blog posts of the year, so I could better understand where he's coming from. Having grown up with my brother as a role model (such that my definition of 'manhood' involves being able to fix my computer rather than carry heavy stuff or play sports etc.), and having some nerd tendencies myself, I can definitely relate, but this guide spells it out so much clearer than anything I've encountered before.
This article comes at a particularly pithy and relevant time for me. Despite my adolescent fantasies of romancing tortured writers, wiry athletes, warrior princes, revolutionaries, asian-american christian worship leaders, and shyly passionate high school history teachers, deep down I always knew I'd wind up with a crusty engineer. My parents are both physics majors and my brother is a classic CS videogame ENTJ, so it's...how you say... in my blood.
I'm amazed at how accurately the guide describes the inner workings of a nerd's mind! I'm at the same time fascinated and bemused by these odd creatures and I'm sure it will come in handy the next time I want to tear my hair out. Some quotes that struck a particular chord in me:
- "A nerd needs a project because a nerd builds stuff. All the time."
- "At some point, you, the nerd’s companion, were the project. You were showered with the fire hose of attention because you were the bright and shiny new development in your nerd’s life."
- "It’s clichéd, but a nerd is defined by his computer...He sees the world as a system which, given enough time and effort, is completely knowable."
- "System-redefining events force your nerd to recognize that the world is not always or entirely a knowable place, and until he reconstructs this illusion, he’s going to be frustrated and he’s going to act erratically."
- "Your nerd has built himself a cave."
- "As each part of the project is completed, your nerd receives an adrenaline rush that we’re going to call The High."
- "Your nerd listens hard to recognize humor potential and when he hears it, he furiously scours his mind to find relevant content from his experience so he can get the funny out as quickly as possible."
- "Your nerd has an amazing appetite for information."
- "You love to travel, but your nerd would prefer to hide in his cave for hours on end chasing The High."
- "You want your nerd to eat healthily so that he’s here in another thirty years, so how do you change this behavior? You make diet and exercise the project."
- "It’s just as much a nerd’s job to figure you out and maybe someone somewhere is writing an article about your particular quirks. Good news, he’s probably reading it right now."