Dorks. Geeks. "Losers." Misfit toys.
Yesterday's post got me thinking: of all the people in the world, I love nerds the most. Nerds make lists. Nerds believe in science, not fairy tales, or when they believe in fairy tales, it's because they make them up themselves. Funny ones, not weird ones. Because while nerds are, in the main, incredibly weird, they are also creative and have a goddamn sense of humor.
No, I don't love all nerds. And yes, nerds can be incredibly annoying. I, myself, am often unbelievably annoying, ask anyone. Especially people who know me well.
But I can love something about almost any nerd, and I'll put up with their tics and quirks, their OCD and Robert's Rules of Order. Because without nerds, there would be no art, refrigeration, poetry, electricity, music, software, hardware, decent food, kickass design or funny movies that are actually funny, not to mention a whole bunch of stuff that people who tend to dislike or fear nerds use a lot, like churches, AM radio and the U.S. interstate highway system.
Bottom line: true nerds, Good nerds, if you will, don't think the world revolves around them. They have a healthy curiosity about the world around them, are always looking for new, cool, interesting stuff, and are continually improving themselves, whether they call it that or not. Nerds are helpful and additive, looking to make the world a better, more inclusive place (as opposed the world many of them, us, grew up in). Nerds don't leech off the system, step on people to get somewhere else, have grandiose notions of themselves or tell other people where to get off.
They can't: they're nerds.
Of course, there are plenty of people who are doing stuff that emulates self-improvement or invention or being helpful, but they are not real nerds. They are just sad. They are losers without the quotation marks. You can usually spot them by their lack of irony, and they're best given a wide berth. Talking to them is, sadly, a waste of breath. Wastes your time and annoys the pig, if you catch my drift.
So to offset the horror of the upcoming "holiday" (and boy, how much do I love putting THAT in quotes?!!), a 21-day buffer of lists and hacks, tips and tools, silliness and creativity.
An homage to nerdery. As if that's not what this whole, damned blog is already.
Let the dorkiness begin...
xxx
c
Image by word freak via Flickr, used under a Creative Commons license.
The Internet is full of shrimp
and Perry Mason
tonight.
I love my Toastmasters club because they are smart, kind, lively, loyal, fun-loving and passionate about becoming better communicators.