The travails of a "nerd"

Today, a fifth-grader cribbed to me about being called a “nerd” by her classmates. Well, that set me thinking. Is it really bad to be referred as a nerd? What does the term actually mean? I found an interesting definition in the dictionary – “the group of people who will most likely make a life changing invention that will radically change the world. The computer was invented by a nerd. The macintosh/apple and windows were invented by nerds.”  Then why does one shy away from being called a nerd? Is it a fault to be born with higher intelligence or to have intellectual pursuits?

Smart kids are normally called nerds by their classmates. There are plenty of reasons for this. Most kids aspire to be at the top of the class, but they are unable to. So they try to pull the toppers down. It is a simple case of “sour grapes”. Just because you are not smart, you spread the word that it is not great to be smart. Since there are many students in this category and the smart ones are few, they sort of get alienated from the rest of the class.

Smart kids are in the good books of the teachers. While in school, generally, the teachers are the idols and students vie for their attention. The highly “unpopular” or rather the highly popular back-benchers get their share of attention due to all the wrong reasons. The smart ones gain the attention by their smartness. The average, which forms the bulk of the class, is naturally envious.

There is a problem with being called a nerd. Smartness is generally not associated with “being cool”. So smart kids are not so cool, as they say. Well, it depends on perspective. Their interests could be different. They have set a high standard for themselves which they find difficult to break. They generally like to be in the good books of their teachers and don’t want to rub them on the wrong side. It doesn’t mean they don’t want to have fun. They are fun-loving creatures too. It is just that their idea of fun is different and they might find the activities of the others as frivolous.

So what should the nerds too? Get together with other nerds. They would understand your predicament. Pursue your interests and hobbies. Learn to ignore the sneers and the jibes. These things don’t matter in the larger picture. Just have fun the way you want to. Continue to develop your smartness and flaunt it without inhibition or fear of being labelled a “nerd”. Just remember that though they are ridiculing you, in fact, they are envying you, and would probably talk to you about it when they encounter you decades later.