*"You're such a nerd!"*

*"That's so nerdy!"*

Whether you have been on the *giving* or *receiving* end of those statements — or just a witness — have you ever wondered *why* this concept even exists... and why some people feel compelled to turn it into a slur?

![0018-Cherries.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/denmarkguy/EqDmTRdd9vfZBBmduYARMKh9yixwQHNNHQwH5W5TBDz9NDXNudwhHUGXh3zFD7pun6W.jpg)

Clearly, I lot of people over the years have thought I was a nerd.

Seems to have something to do with actually liking to *think* and occasionally *use my brain,* as opposed to just living in a non-stop adrenaline laden rush off the nearest cliff without a thought for my own — or anyone else's — safety or well-being.

The fact that I actually *enjoy* writing is evidently *also* pretty nerdy. 

So is the fact that I think through my actions and the potential *consequences* of them, before just blindly jumping into something.

Much of the time, the best way to *define* a thing is actually to try to define what that thing is *not.*

![0006-Heather.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/denmarkguy/EowJ44GBmrAVfABVru34JYXiHKLY3CLjfbpax7hBgnJ3qex8sf9MTp1EoBRL92FU5eE.jpg)

I was always a nerd because I did *not* subscribe to *"being cool"* as a social currency I cared about. Ironically, I felt that people who were *"posers,"* always focusing on portraying some outward image to impress were singularly *UN*-cool.

But I carried a very different yardstick from the majority of my peers.

When I look back on my allegedly *"awkward"* years, I realize that much of the nerdiness ascribed to me was on account being broadly indifferent towards the whole issue of popularity and cliques that so dominate a certain period of the growing up process.

But I generally defied many of the standard *"boxes,"* being 6'4" (193cm) tall and athletic and not being your typical *"gamer type"* nor deeply stuck down inside sci-fi and fantasy comic books. 

In some ways, I think I was perceived to be a nerd because I did mostly *what interested me*, rather than what might have been *"popular"* or *"trendy."*

![0937-Sage.JPG](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/denmarkguy/23wMWDurb7xJrWkrTeHvFMnoxmqGFqzUHutGTJC6Sz73jfi9wXxQqSB8bbvFozz7rLCQU.JPG)

Again, it's mysterious in the sense that we allegedly value *"independence,"* but when someone embodies such a characteristic we feel the need to take it apart.

Maybe we are ultimately dealing with the fear of anything *different,* but isn't *everything* ultimately *"different,"* in it's own way? It's all a matter of who we ask...

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great week ahead!

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Created at 2025.03.23 23:50 PDT*
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