Though the subject of unapologetic humor, nerd values and attitudes are wonderful. Society would be better off with more nerds.
When other groups have gotten status and prestige, or just respect, in the past, they have had to either (1) exercise aggressive dominance, or (2) do the victim thing. Nerds are getting respect like never before by just coming out, valuing who they are and what they do, making a bit of fun of themselves, and by the simple fact that people actually know stuff and can get stuff done with passion and complete dedication are really valuable, admirable people who tend to enjoy what they do!
I found a delightful blog post by Liz Andrade, a self-described nerd, who describes some nerd values that also illustrates why nerds are so valuable.
Here are a couple excerpts:
Nerds are Inspiring!
Part of being a nerd has to do with having some strong opinions on whatever it is you’re nerdy for — be it Star Wars, video games or typography — nerds pride themselves on knowing a lot about what they are into and your opinions on the matter are part of your identity.
...
This past year I shopped for glasses ... and the experience I had ... made something that in the past was nothing more than a necessary task into a remarkable experience! How? The people at these locations were total eye wear nerds!
This is a sect of nerd I was not even aware existed ... They were able to suggest ideas based on my face shape and style, they knew about eye wear designers, frame shapes, materials, vintage styles and their enthusiasm for the subject was infectious!
When you are passionate about what you do, you inspire the people around you – and who doesn’t want to work with someone inspiring!?
Nerds are Authentic
Part of being nerdy is accepting yourself for who you are and what you are into even if isn’t what fits into the status quo or flow into the mainstream. Those who are able to embrace their nerdisms and not be ashamed of them have this obvious badge of honesty.
Whether it is real or imagined, if someone can be totally open and honest about their Red Dwarf obsession, you feel they are probably transparent about other things in their life, like business practices and ethics.
Nerds are Memorable
Nerds are usually stand out from the crowd… and being unique makes you easier to remember, as simple as that. It is each of our unique experiences and abilities that make us valuable individuals, blending in has become a liability to any business trying to be remarkable!
Of course the work of nerdy, remarkable people like Temple Grandin has gotten some attention and helped the cause as well. Temple has had to overcome some obnoxious and inexcusable barriers ... to make the world a better place! Not to mention, to get her job done! More of us should be more like Temple....
Domain expertise is a big part of nerd-dom, as you point out. So is respect for other nerds, and I think the two go hand in hand.
People who get by on looks and charisma without having deep knowledge of a particular area tend not to understand just how hard it is to develop deep domain expertise, and they fall prey to the deadly misconception of "I don't understand it, so it must be easy." This leads them to think that they will quickly and easily become good at new, complicated things.
In my field of wealth management, the delusion that investing is easy - a delusion encouraged by everyone with a financial product to sell - is usually very expensive and painful.
As former Harvard President Derek Bok said: "If you think education is expensive, try ignorance."
Posted by: Brendan Ross | 07/28/2011 at 05:55 PM