Nerdier than Thou?

[Jamie-o]

As I was dropping off some mail at the post office, it suddenly occurred to me that I had just sent out what was probably the geekiest envelope in the history of the U.S. Postal Service.  Computer mag subscription, Yoda postage stamp, and a return address sticker with a dragon on it. 

So, is there anyone out there who cares to challenge me for the title of Monarch of Nerdville? 

[Nero]

No. You're a definite geek. 

[Constance]

I use a Palm Zire 31 for my grocery shopping list. When my wife still had her Palm m100, I would beam the shopping list from my device to hers. Back then, I had a Palm Zire m150.

Also, I have a Roman numeral calculator installed on my Zire 31.

Is that nerdly enough?

[je]

I have a flux capacitor.

[Constance]

I have a flux capacitor.

I defer to you. I don't even know what a flux capacitor is.

[tekla]

Yeah, but do you have a Mr. Fusion Home Energy Reactor?

[Constance]

When I hurt my knee a while back, I made a cane out of PVC and wood that looks like a Tusken Raider's gaffii stick from the first Star Wars movie.

[Alyssa M.]

I have a flux capacitor.

I defer to you. I don't even know what a flux capacitor is.

Oh, horrors -- I'm sorry, but you have lost all your geek cred! Next thing, you'll say you don't know what happens when you take a Delorean up to 88mph! 

Here's a flux capacitor for you:



But it requires a lot of power to run:

1.21 gigawatts? 1.21 gigawatts? Great Scott!

[Elwood]

I have a flux capacitor.

I've built one. A prop version, anyway.
I also almost invested in a DeLorean.

Being nerdy and linearly thinking, I try to solve my medical issues the logical way by using math or diagrams or anything factual to that effect:

[Link]

People tell me I should focus more on the emotional aspects.

The fact that I always wear shoes like this is either horribly fashionable, weird, or nerdy:

[Link]

And the obsessive factor of my personality can either be considered nerdy or somewhat autistic.

[Link]

I invested time in studying every visible component of the Proton Pack from Ghostbusters. I attempted to calculate the power that would be required to run a cyclotron of that size, and truly what sort of effect it would have on the environment. I concluded that even if there was a way to sufficiently power the device, it would melt itself before it ever spewed any particles (which would NOT be a flashy light show). Most cyclotrons this size are powered by a power plant of some sort, not charged. Egon described them as radioactive, with a "cell life" of something like 3,000 years (yes, I don't remember the exact numbers at the moment, disproving my "nerdiness," but there are fires right by here and the smoke is getting to my head), but for them to be radioactive suggests that the material of the proton pack is lead, far too heavy to carry, and even then, to protect the Ghostbuster from radioactive poisoning, the lead would have to be several feet thick. The probability of the machine working is zero.

[Link]

I also intend to build a prototype (meaning it doesn't work and it's just a prop).

I invested some time into their newer technology, which is far more probable:



The fact that I've also invested time into the Ecto-Goggles, Giga Meter, and Ghost trap really helps explain how captured I am by this movie's technology. I eventually graduated Ghostbusters and moved onto Back to the Future and Men in Black. Those technologies are even more ridiculous and hard to work with. Before all of this, I would study the ships from Star Wars and Star Trek... theoretically, they could work (in space, anyway).

[Chaunte]

Flux capacitors!  Starships! 

Such rookies!

Top this one, if you can!

I still use a sliderule in my classroom!  Either the 6" one I always keep in my tie-dyed labcoat's breast pocket, OR the 10" Picket slidrules I keep in my computer case and on on my display bench upfront.  I also build them for kids who want to try their hand at a sliderule.  (They are always fascinated when I start using my "slip stick!")

I keep my dad's rosewood and ivory K&E sliderule safe at home.  Still works well.

In short, a sliderule is multiplying & dividing numbers and sine,cosine & tangent values using exponent-addition.  It requires no power.  After a bit of practice, it is really simple to use.  (It was good enough to send astronauts into space!)  Plus, it's faster than a calculator!

Even better, you have to know your math facts!  You would be stunned at the number of science majors who don't trust themselves to add a short sequence of numbers.  If it comes from a calculator, it MUST be right!

For those who don't know what a sliderule is, I offer a wikipedia link below.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slide_rule
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6e/Sliderule.PickettN902T.agr.jpg

[tekla]

I will give you the slide rule for nerd city, but I know how to use an abacus, which is nerd plus a different culture, neener neener neener!

[Elwood]

Oh, well, I have a labcoat because I was an amateur engineer for a while. I'd build my own simple machines, which is either nerdy or really cool to people. The fact that I wear a trenchcoat, suit, or labcoat to class with a briefcase on a regular basis either makes me very nerdy or very stylish. My labcoat was also for chemistry, and I found I never really needed it. I would have gotten an apron for my work, but that just didn't seem to really cooperate with what I wanted.

As for a slide rule, um, I don't always carry it with me, because I don't always need it. But I have one that I've used to plot schematics for designs of small machines (which aren't always electronic; technically a door handle is a small machine). Many may wonder the application of a slide rule in such an application; it is something I would use instead of a bulky calculator.

Is math nerdy or is it just practical?

I learned how the use an abacus, and I think most people who went to grade school used one at some point to learn their basic math.

Having glasses also adds to the nerd persona. No, it doesn't make a person a nerd, but it certainly adds to it. So I already subtract points from people who have superb vision. It's the nerd who bumps into a wall because he can't find his glasses. I also don't count contacts because wearing contacts implies that the person is attempting some sort of social stability or social acceptance. There is no other reason to have contacts, as they are nothing but an inconvenience.

I think another nerdy factor is that I like to dismantle old gadgets and put them back together again. I am not always successful, but that is part of the learning process. Most people don't sit around philosophizing the very nature of a machine's design. They just say it works and assumes that is how it came to be. But what of the psychology of the outside and inside of the object? Ever see the inside of a chainsaw and wonder how someone came up with the idea? How about a toaster oven?

[Sarah Louise]

Sliderulers were manditory when I was young.


Sarah L.

[lady amarant]

OMG.

And I thought I was a geek. I read comics, indulge in some occasional D&D, and spend an inordinate amount of time chained to my computer. And I have an unhealthy penchant for trying to look smart by knowing lots of stuff. That's about it.

I concede the floor. You are all WAY nerdier than I am. 

~Simone.

[tekla]

The only thing sexier than the person who reads the manual first is the person who also reads the schematic.

Mmmmmmmmmmmm signal path.  Yummy.

[Elwood]

OMG.

And I thought I was a geek. I read comics, indulge in some occasional D&D, and spend an inordinate amount of time chained to my computer. And I have an unhealthy penchant for trying to look smart by knowing lots of stuff. That's about it.

I concede the floor. You are all WAY nerdier than I am. 

~Simone.

I did really forget to mention that... I was a real DnD freak for a while, but something about that seems more "geeky" than "nerdy." I don't really know how to explain the difference. It's the same feeling I get when I compare a "gamer" and a Trekkie. I just see a really large gap between the two.

@ tekla: The shematic is the map to understanding the machine, whether it be simple or complex. I'm really into that stuff. It's a shame because as a "girl," I'm just a nerd, but a lot of girls seem to think men who are wrapped up in things like that are incredibly sexy. Maybe when I start T I'll be much luckier in the romance department... I'd still have to explain why I don't have a dick, though.

[tekla]

Yeah, and if you can read and follow them then you can take a few hours to to a five minute repair because no one else has a clue as to what's going on.  Kind of like the soundboards when people ask, "Do you know what all those knobs do?"  "Why yes, and that's why I get paid to stand here and answer questions like that."  Though the only button I like is the 'mute' and they don't let me use it near enough in my opinion.

Last summer we built a trebuchet out of bunch of scrap stuff and were getting over a block distance with water balloons until something about 'insurance' came up.  After which we were forbidden from building any siege engines at work.  Yeesh.  Talk about a no fun zone, like I'm supposed to listen to Panic! At the Disco?  We still have the trebuchet though.  Its even been improved and now gets a block and a half.

[Elwood]

Ah, yes. I've built small scale trebuchets, gandolas, catapults, etc. The biggest trebuchet I participated in building in was about 15 feet high and we could throw cinderblocks and toasters with it.

[Constance]

OK, so, I guess I'm more dork than nerd.

Oh, thanks for the Deloran at 88 MPH. I get it now.

-- Shades "Slow on the Uptake" O'Grey

[Elwood]

I also attend renaissance faires in full costume, but I don't think that's necessarily nerdy. It could be... I was a monk/friar this year.