An alternate spelling, as nurd, also began to appear in the mid-1960s or early 70s. Author Philip K. Dick claims to have coined this spelling in 1973, but its first recorded use appeared in a 1965 student publication at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Oral tradition there holds that the word is derived from "knurd" ("drunk" spelled backwards), which was used to describe people who studied rather than partied. On the other hand, the variant "gnurd" was in wide use at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology throughout the first half of the 1970s.
Other theories of the word's origin suggest that it may derive from Mortimer Snerd, Edgar Bergen's ventriloquist dummy, or the Northern Electric Research and Development labs in Ontario (now Nortel). The Online Etymology Dictionary speculates that the word is an alteration of the 1940s term nert (meaning "stupid or crazy person"), which is itself an alteration of "nut.
The term was popularized in the 1970s by its heavy use in the sitcom Happy Days.
They typically appear either to lack confidence or to be indifferent or oblivious to the negative perceptions held of them by others, with the result that they become frequent objects of scorn, ridicule, bullying, and social isolation. Some nerds show a pronounced interest in subjects which others tend to find dull or complex and difficult to comprehend, or overly mature for their age, especially topics related to science, disambiguation, mathematics and technology. On the opposite end of the spectrum, nerds may show an interest in activities that are viewed by their peers as immature for their age, such as trading cards, comic books, or role playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons and other things relating to fantasy and science fiction. They are also stereotyped for being obsessed with Star Trek, Star Wars, and other science fiction shows or movies. Nerds are often portrayed as unfit and either obese or very thin. Nerds are also sometimes portrayed as having symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder, such as by showing an extreme devotion to following rules.
Stereotypical nerd qualities have evolved in recent years, from awkwardness and social ostracism to a more widespread acceptance and sometimes even celebration of their abilities. This is largely attributable to the rise of the computer industry, which has allowed many "nerdy" people (most notably Bill Gates) to accumulate large fortunes and other measures of social prestige. Some measure of nerdiness is widely considered desirable, because it suggests a person who is intelligent, respectful, interesting, and able to earn a large salary. This evolution has dovetailed with waning emphasis on the social awkwardness of nerds, with more attention placed on their intelligence and academic enthusiasm.
My idea is to present an image to children that it is good to be intellectual, and not to care about the peer pressures to be anti-intellectual. I want every child to turn into a nerd - where that means someone who prefers studying and learning to competing for social dominance, which can unfortunately cause the downward spiral into social rejection.
- — Gerald Sussman, quoted by Katie Hafner, The New York Times, 29 August 1993
The popular computer-news website Slashdot uses the tagline "News for nerds. Stuff that matters." The Charles J. Sykes quote "Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one" has been popularized on the Internet and incorrectly attributed to Bill Gates. In Spain, Nerd Pride Day has been observed on May 25 since 2006.
An episode from the animated series Freakazoid, titled "Nerdator", includes the use of nerds to power the mind of a Predator-like enemy, who delivers a memorable monologue on the importance of nerds:
...what they lack in physical strength they make up in brain power. Who writes all the best selling books? Nerds. Who directs the top grossing Hollywood movies? Nerds. Who creates the highly advanced technology that only they can understand? ...Nerds. And who are the people who run for the high office of the Presidency? No one but nerds.''The Danish reality TV show FC Zulu, known in the internationally franchised format as FC Nerds, established a format wherein a team of nerds, after two or three months of training, competes with a professional soccer team.
Nerdcore hip hop is a genre of hip hop music that has risen in popularity over the last few years, often expressing nerd themes with pride and humor. Notable artists include mc chris, MC Plus+, MC Hawking, MC Lars, and MC Frontalot. The term nerdcore has seen wider application to refer to webcomics (most notably Penny Arcade, User Friendly, PvP, and Megatokyo) and other media that express nerd themes without inhibition. Although the idea of nerds is popular, those adapting the characteristics of nerds are not actually nerds by definition. One cannot be an authentic nerd by imitation alone; a nerd is an outsider and someone who is unable to follow trends. Popular culture is borrowing the concept and image of nerds in order to stand out as individuals.
See also
References
Further reading
- Bucholtz, Mary. ""Why be normal?": Language and identity practices in a community of nerd girls." Language in Society (1999), 28: 203-223. Cambridge University Press.
- Frayling, Christopher. Mad, Bad And Dangerous?: The Scientist and the Cinema. Reaktion Books, 2005.
- Genuine Nerd (2006) - Feature-length documentary on Toby Radloff.
- Kendall, Lori. "'The Nerd Within': Mass Media and the Negotiation of Identity Among Computer-Using Men." The Journal of Men's Studies, 7(3) (1999): 353-69.
- Kendall, Lori. "Nerd Nation: Images of Nerds in U.S. Popular Culture." International Journal of Cultural Studies, Vol. 2, No. 2, 260-283 (1999)
- Kendall, Lori. "'Oh No! I'm a Nerd!': Hegemonic Masculinity on an Online Forum." Gender & Society, 14 (2) (2000): 256-274.
- Nugent, Benjamin. American Nerd: The Story of My People. 2008. ISBN-13: 978-0743288019
- Newitz, A. & Anders, C. (Eds) She's Such a Geek: Women Write About Science, Technology, and Other Nerdy Stuff. Seal Press, 2006.
- Okada, Toshio. Otaku Gaku Nyumon (Translated: 'Introduction to Otakuology'). Ohta Verlag. Tokyo, 1996.
External links
- " The Well-Dressed Geek: Media Appropriation and Subcultural Style" (Paper by Jason Tocci presented at the MIT5 conference. PDF, 180kb).
- "Why Nerds are Unpopular", an essay by Paul Graham about the conformist society in American high schools.
- "The Nerds Have Won", an article by Brian Hayes in American Scientist, September-October 2000.
N.E.R.D (alternatively written as N*E*R*D) is an alternative rock, funk, and hip hop band formed in 2001. Their music is best described as funk rock, with various other influences, including hip hop, R&B, soul, alternative rock, and blues. Band member Pharrell explains:
What is a N*E*R*D? N*E*R*D stands for No-one Ever Really Dies. The Neptunes are who we are and N*E*R*D is what we do. It's our life. N*E*R*D is just a basic belief, man. People's energies are made of their souls. When you die, that energy may disperse but it isn't destroyed.
In Search Of... achieved moderate success in the U.S.: the album reached number 59 on the Billboard 200; its first single, "Lapdance", reached the top 40 on the "Modern Rap" charts; and its second single, "Rock Star", reached the top 40 of the "Modern Rock" charts in the US. "Lapdance" also went top 40 in the U.K. and Netherlands and its music video received heavy airplay on American MTV2. The album was well-received by critics even though it was not as successful as many of the Neptunes' previous productions.
The album won the second annual Shortlist Music Prize, awarded by a group of musicians, journalists, and other music professionals to the best album of the year which had sold less than 500,000 copies at the time of nomination. The band performed at the show, bragging that the week prior to the ceremony, the album had, in fact, achieved gold status by selling over 500,000 units.
A 6.1 surround mix of this album was released by DTS Entertainment on a DVD-Audio disc in 2005.
Several of the tracks discuss issues of particular concern to adolescents, for example "Thrasher", which is about bullies and street violence; "Drill Sergeant", about rebellion and war, "Backseat Love", which talks about first love, and "Maybe" talked about a first time break up.
Fly or Die went on sale on March 22, 2004. The album has so far gone top 10 in the U.S., while the first single, "She Wants to Move", has gone top 5 in the UK, top 20 in Norway, Ireland, and Denmark, and top 40 in Australia and the Netherlands. The music videos for "She Wants to Move" and its follow up single, "Maybe", have received strong support from the digital cable network VH1 Soul in America
In March 2008, the band performed at SXSW in Austin, Texas. While there they filmed a PSA for Rock the Vote saying why they think voting is important and the issues they care about this election year.
From April to June 2008, the band toured with Kanye West as an opening act along with Rihanna and Lupe Fiasco as part of the Glow in the Dark Tour. On June 25th, they performed in front of 40,000 people at the Isle of MTV 2008 at the Floriana granaries, Malta with free admission. On 9th of August 2008, the band played at the Way Out West music festival held in the city park of Gothemburg, Sweden. On 2nd of September 2008, N.E.R.D. performed to a sold-out crowd at the House of Blues in Chicago, and brought special guest Bad Brains onstage.
The second single 'Spaz' was filmed at the Brixton Academy concert on June 14th 2008.
| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions | Sales | Certifications (sales thresholds) | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. | UK | GER | FRA | AUS | NZ | NLD | NOR | BEL | SUI | SWE | |||||
| 2002 | In Search Of... | 56 | 28 | — | — | — | — | 34 | 40 | — | — | 17 | US: 603,000 | US: Gold | |
| 2004 | Fly or Die
| 6 | 4 | 20 | 31 | 11 | 22 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 27 | 9 | US: 412,000 | US: Gold | |
| 2008 | Seeing Sounds
| 7 | 20 | 65 | — | 14 | — | 16 | — | — | 13 | — | US: 163,541 | ||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or have yet to chart. | |||||||||||||||
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Album | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. | U.S. R&B | U.S. D/CP | UK | AUS | SWE | NLD | |||||||||
| 2001 | "Lapdance" (feat. Lee Harvey and Vita) | — | 85 | — | 33 | — | 47 | 56 | In Search Of... | ||||||
| 2002 | "Rock Star" | — | — | — | 15 | 32 | — | 74 | |||||||
| "Provider" | — | — | — | 20 | — | 43 | 95 | ||||||||
| "Lapdance" (re-release) | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||
| 2004 | "She Wants to Move" | 43 | 69 | 6 | 4 | 21 | 58 | 8 | Fly or Die | ||||||
| "Maybe" | — | — | 19 | 25 | 48 | — | 37 | ||||||||
| 2008 | "Everyone Nose" | — | — | — | 41 | — | — | — | Seeing Sounds | ||||||
| "Spaz" | 106 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or have yet to chart. | |||||||||||||||
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