I'm an Unashamed Nerd.

[MineralMan]

For me, the term is not a negative one, and has never been a negative one. I'll tell a story about my nerdiness that dates back to my junior high school days (middle school to you youngsters):

In 1957, I was in the 7th grade. I was a 12-year-old science nerd, and still am, really. In October of that year, the USSR launched the first orbiting satellite, Sputnik 1. It was a major news story and a major accomplishment for humans. We had put a satellite in orbit. It was the talk of the day for a very long time. Of course, the science teacher talked about it to us kids.

One of my hobbies at the time was listening to shortwave radio broadcasts. My parents have given me a Heathkit shortwave radio kit the Christmas before, and I put it together. It worked great. Shortly after Sputnik was launched, I found out the radio frequency used by it to broadcast the primitive telemetry signal it produced. The Los Angeles Times published a schedule of the times the satellite would pass over California for several days.

So, I talked to my science teacher and asked if she thought it would be interesting for the class to hear Sputnik. She was skeptical, but I told her I had been listening to it already. I told her that it would be passing over during our science class two days later and offered to set things up so everyone could hear it. She was still skeptical, but said it would be OK to try.

So, I did. I brought my radio to school and strung up a makeshift antenna. I had tested the setup earlier in the day, and it worked just fine. So, that day, the entire classroom got to hear Sputnik beep as it passed by. 20.005 MHZ, just above the WWV time signal. Beep, beep, beep.

Yes, I was a nerd. Who cared? That day, a nerdish 12-year-old got to be the class hero. Nerds rule!

[el_bryanto]

1. There's nothing wrong with being a nerd.

There is a discussion to be had about the cultures nerds have created, but I am glad we are living in an age when Nerds are more accepted in the mainstream.

Bryant

[Ptah]

2. Sputnik flashback

[MineralMan]

3. Yup. That was it.

It was a pretty amazing thing, back in 1957. There was a lot of amazing stuff happening with technology around that time. Transistors were taking over electronics, and much more. People were just starting to buy color television sets. FM radio was becoming popular. The electronics revolution was about to explode.

OTOH, we were still crouching under desks in "atomic bomb" drills. Lots of bad stuff still going on in many areas. Things are somewhat better now, but we still have far to go.

[Ptah]

7. My older brother was 13 then and had just got his Novice License.

I was 7 and it kind of frightened me that the USSR was flying over us.

[Eleanors38]

43. Did you launch rockets? A few days after Sputnik,

my folks took us to a cow pasture just S. of the U. of Florida campus where highschool kids were trying launches. One got up nearly 200 ft! Those old fields are all apartments and shopping strips, now.

[snooper2]

4. Nerds have BO LOL, I would rather be a Geek

[MineralMan]

5. The distinction is very difficult to make.

The funny thing is that the word "nerd" wasn't really in use back in 1957 with the same definition it has now. The definition of a nerd that was prevalent then was "someone who sniffs bicycle seats." Seriously. And "geek" still had the definition of "someone in a side show who bites the heads off chickens."

The language evolves, it seems.

[snooper2]

6. Watch the video and it will be explained

[Stuart G]

8. There is a wonderful movie that starts with the "Sputnik" event.

The movie is called, "The Iron Giant"...

It is about the 50s and space, lies, exaggeration, fear, love, and more..
And it is fun, lots of fun...
I am an animation fan....(an animation nerd if you will)
Study animation for years..
This movie is the best.

I recommend it to anyone that likes that era, and space and fun.

Please watch it if you have time..

I recall Sputnik too.
What an era, cause after Sputnik, we began to strengthen science and math.
OUr space program took off.
and the fruits of that program are here on these computers,
and the internet..

take care, hope all are well today.

Stuart

[hfojvt]

36. isn't that one of those action movies

that stars Vin Diesel as an action hero who empties out a lake and stops a nuclear missile?

[daleanime]

37. +1

Good film.

[tk2kewl]

9. That reminds me of a student I had in the mid 90s...

I was an adjunct prof at a local university teaching introduction to geographic information systems.

The student was a research scientist from Brookhaven National Lab. He took the desktop software we used in class and scripted it to poll a feed from the FAA that tracked all commercial flights producing a dynamic map similar to this one that anyone can use today http://planefinder.net/

[Skidmore]

10. I am the proud mother of

one male nerd and one female nerd and grandmother to four nascent nerds. Family communications and get togethers are packed with nerdery. My youngest grandson, I swear, is plotting world domination by the time he hits the double digits in age. I'm so proud of them all and the fact that they are curious, engaged, and love to learn about the universe around them.

[MineralMan]

11. Excellent! I'm sure I drove my parents nuts with my nerdery,

but they encouraged it. That Heathkit radio was just one example. I'm sure they questioned my ability to assemble that radio from parts, but they got it for me anyhow. I took my time, learned the necessary skills, and did it. I'm sure they shook their heads on a frequent basis over me, but it didn't matter. They wanted me to succeed.

Another great story, from even younger days. I was forever bringing small animals home that I had found while wandering in the undeveloped area around my small town. One time, I found a Western Alligator Lizard, almost a foot long. I walked into the house with it. It had its jaws locked on my thumb. Didn't hurt or anything, but I just had to show this amazing lizard to my mom, and figured I'd get a rise out of her. She said, and I quote her exactly, "That's very nice. When it lets go, wash your hands for dinner." That was it. By then, the unexpected was expected from me.

[Skidmore]

12. Your mother sounds like a treasure.

We actively encourage all nerdery. Any time is reading time. When the kids (both generations) were little, if they presented themselves with a book and wanted to be read to, that took priority over every activity that was not urgent at the time. We dropped what was in hand to spend a little time reading. They all were very early readers and soon were devouring books on their own. The little future Great Leader of the Planet was reading at third grade level by his third birthday. He entered kindergarten reading at 8th grade level.

This grandma does not give Disney princess stuff and plastic junk as gifts. We give books and gifts that encourage hands on learning experiences. Grandpa just taught the preteen how to design a microcircuit and build it. When he last visited he brought with him a working gizmo with multiple functions from playing mp3s to flashlight to a couple of other things. He's having a blast with it too.

The granddaughters both are very active readers. The older one is in an excellence academy. She's a math whiz. The younger one is a brainy little hippie. She's a free spirit and probably will end up being in the arts somehow. Smart girlie, that one.

I'm with you. Nerdery should be encouraged and never mocked. From these minds will come the ideas that shape the future. As long as the guidance is there to shape ethical and humanitarian values, the world will be in good hands.

[MineralMan]

13. She still is a treasure at 90 years of age.

My dad, too. Both are still living, and I'll be seeing them shortly.

[Skidmore]

14. Lucky you.

Both of my parents are gone. Give them extra hugs. They did well by their son.

[MineralMan]

15. There will be hugs, for sure.

I live halfway across the country from them, because my wife's parents needed here our help. My brother and sister, though, still live in the same town as my parents, so they've got that covered. My wife's 86 year old mom just moved into assisted living. Her mother lived to 100, so we expect to be here for quite some time to come. MIL will probably outlive me, for pete's sake. Life's always interesting, it seems.

[rhett o rick]

16. As I remember that time period, the nerd label was given to those that

didn't fit in the cool crowd. It didn't mean they had special science skills. I had a very good friend that was very knowledgeable in science and math and he was pretty much ignored by the cool crowd. I don't remember him being singled out as a nerd. I think it was the movies that equated Nerdom with smartness. I knew a lot of nerds, myself included, that didn't have any special abilities.

I am a bit surprised that you had a female science teacher. I think that was rare in 1957.

Nerds rock, even if we don't know shit about science.

[MineralMan]

19. Miss Weaver. She was quite a character, and a great

middle school science teacher. Everyone called her "Petey." She did a good job of interesting kids in the sciences, I think. She didn't have to work very hard with me, though.

[rhett o rick]

23. Very cool. I am glad you have good memories. Having good teachers at young ages

is very important.

[packman]

17. I remember going out in the evening

and with a pair of binoculars watching Sputnik going over the night sky. It was amazing.

[MineralMan]

20. Yes, that too. It was amazing, to be sure.

[logosoco]

18. I'll bet that there are people in that class who remember that thanks to you!

Nerds are just cool people in a different way.

My son is a nerd. My daughters are somewhat nerdy, but they want all the fashionable things, too!

I think my grandsons are heading in that direction. They are really taking to the computers and other devices around them. And since that is not so much my realm, I am teaching them how playing in the garden and growing things is another good way of learning how things work. Having things like youtube makes learning about the world so much easier.

I have vague memories of the first moon walk. It fascinates me still. I don't really understand how they make that work, but it is so cool that they did it!

[MineralMan]

21. "Nerds are just cool people in a different way."

Yes. That's difficult for kids to understand, though, sometimes. It's easy to feel ostracized and unpopular. Still, the nerds have their own group of friends, in most cases. Trying to live up to everyone's expectations never makes sense, but it can be a difficult lesson to learn.

[ColesCountyDem]

22. Unapologetic science nerd here, too!

[seveneyes]

24. Radioactive Boy Scout meets The EPA

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Hahn

[Crash2Parties]

25. The times they were a'changing...

[quote='MineralMan'] "The Los Angeles Times published a schedule of the times the satellite would pass over California for several days. "[\quote]

The appreciation of tech geeks is commonplace today, especially within the realms of capitalism, but *this* (see quote) is something that would never happen in our post-9/11, "you are either with us or against us", mass media today! Imagine, helping the Soviet terrorists instill fear in the hearts of Red blooded Americans!

(btw, a thanks to MineralMan and all your fellow nerds for being the earlier pioneers of tech hobbyists. The fine tradition is carried on by the likes of the arduino & openwrt & home astronomy crowd.)

[riqster]

26. Me too, just a different generation.

I like being a nerd. Of course, I have little choice in the matter.

[smirkymonkey]

27. I was always a popular girl secretly in love with the nerds.

I still pretty much only like nerds since I am a nerd at heart. I hate jocks. Always have, always will.

I liked how interesting and sensitive they were/are. My interests are kind of offbeat and non-mainstream so it's refreshing to find a kindred spirit.

[MineralMan]

28. Last year, I went to my 50th HS reunion.

Several women there told me they had had a crush on me at some point. I was very flattered, but had no idea of that at the time. I did have girlfriends, though. Most of them were science nerds or other band members, too. A good deal of very consensual experimentation went on, too, as I fondly recall. It was a small town, so most of the 104 kids in my class knew each other since kindergarten. Everyone knew everyone, so you were already friends with anyone you got together with romantically.

Adolescence is such a strange time. Crushes came and went frequently. What I don't remember, though, was much anxiety about it at the time. It was all fun and interesting to me.

These days, in my dotage, all of that makes for a lot of interesting memories, which I replay from time to time.

[Nye Bevan]

29. I'm so nerdy that I make my own beer

by putting root beer in a square cup.

[MadrasT]

34. ...

[upaloopa]

30. I was a radar repairman in the Army

When I got out I wanted to stay in the field but I needed a technical education and a FCC license. So I went to the Technical Institute at our local university. I was a bit uneasy sitting with guys that carried slide rules in holsters on their belts and had pocket protectors full of pens. Then when home coming time came I learned that no one wanted to work on the float for the Technical Institute. Only the nerds with the slide rules and pocket protectors worked on their own float.
I dropped out because I just wasn't cut out to be a nerd.

[CK_John]

31. I remember it well, was in boot camp at Parris Island.

[muriel_volestrangler]

32. May as well post the OED definition and usage examples

since some people seem to think that people in general don't mean anything bad by it.

slang (orig. U.S.). Mildly derogatory.

An insignificant, foolish, or socially inept person; a person who is boringly conventional or studious. Now also: spec. a person who pursues an unfashionable or highly technical interest with obsessive or exclusive dedication.
1951 Newsweek 8 Oct. 28 In Detroit, someone who once would be called a drip or a square is now, regrettably, a nerd.
1957 Sunday Mail (Glasgow) 10 Feb. 11 Nerd—a square.
1971 Observer 23 May 36/3 Nerds are people who don't live meaningful lives.
1983 Truck & Bus Transportation July 129/1 When loose-brained nurds crack up the top arrangements of a man o' my calibre, I got no union t' thump them nurds with.
1993 Sci. Amer. Apr. 96/1 ‘Nerd’..is movie shorthand for scientists, engineers and assorted technical types who play chess, perhaps, or the violin.
2002 Chicago Tribune 20 Jan. iv. 7/1 Among Silicon Valley nerds, chip engineers..are the geekiest of all.

Note that the original meaning is entirely negative; you might get away with saying "exclusive dedication to a highly technical interest" can be complimentary. However, I think people should admit that 'socially inept' does denigrate the desirability, including sexually, of the person. Similarly, the American Heritage Dictionary:

1. A foolish, inept, or unattractive person.
2. A person who is single-minded or accomplished in scientific or technical pursuits but is felt to be socially inept.

Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary:

an unstylish, unattractive, or socially inept person; esp : one slavishly devoted to intellectual or academic pursuits

[GeorgeGist]

41. You might want to get a new calendar ...

you seem to be stuck in 1951.

[muriel_volestrangler]

44. The OP was all about the 1950s

But nerd is still dismissive.

[scubadude]

33. Me too, and I do it for DU as can be seen here...

http://setiathome.berkeley.edu/team_members.php?teamid=31451&offset=0&sort_by=expavg_credit

[Gothmog]

35. I am nerd in a family of nerds

[meti57b]

38. Guess I have to admit to being a nerd, also.

I wanted to take engineering in college, but my folks wouldn't let me. They said a woman engineer would not be able to get a job. So, I got through pre-pharmacy and other stuff in college. I applied for a civil service job as engineering technician, where all you had to do was outscore the other applicants on a written test.

Personnel did their best to not hire me, but one supervisor liked that I knew how to program the computers and "unit record machines" of the day. He hired me, and six months later when he transferred to another department, he transferred me to an engineering design department.

I went back to college at night, got my engineering degree, and later my civil engineering license, ..... and have lived happily ever after with a job as an engineer.

[dipsydoodle]

39. Nice story. Good on you.

Warm thanks for posting.

[BobbyBoring]

40. Sputnik really spurred science and research in the USA

Those red commies beat us by putting up the first sattelite. The space race was on!

[GeorgeGist]

42. Now we kill people better.

[AndyTiedye]

45. I Built a Tesla Coil Around that Age

Had a ham radio license too.

Met an equally nerdish girl at MIT. We've been together ever since. Over 40 years now.