posted
I wonder if some of the male characters will be switched to females. There aren't a lot of females in the books.
Posts: 5957 | Registered: Oct 2001
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And the ones that are there aren't too impressive. Although there aren't that many male characters either.
Posts: 12931 | Registered: Aug 2005
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Someone who's got that young-but-intelligent pseudo-nerd look. You know, the Hollywood "I'm dressed just homely enough to be plausible as a mathematician", but with a chiseled jaw and 0% body fat. With glasses, so you know he's smart. (only smart people are allowed to wear glasses)
Posts: 2222 | Registered: Dec 2008
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It seems and odd choice for them, the Foundation trilogy doesn't have much sex, but I'm sure HBO will change that
Posts: 2332 | Registered: Jul 2003
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quote:Originally posted by Dogbreath: Someone who's got that young-but-intelligent pseudo-nerd look. You know, the Hollywood "I'm dressed just homely enough to be plausible as a mathematician", but with a chiseled jaw and 0% body fat. With glasses, so you know he's smart. (only smart people are allowed to wear glasses)
Oh... yeah yeah... that Spock guy.
Posts: 9912 | Registered: Nov 2005
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I always took that to mean guys who weren't into sports, and had really well paying jobs. But your idea of nerdy might be an aspergers afflicted gamer with hygiene issues who is unemployable. A lot of people get labelled nerdy early on because they didn't peak socially in high school. The ones who did peak socially in high school are now all losers of course, and women are attracted to men who seem successful and valued by others.
Posts: 9912 | Registered: Nov 2005
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I think that's the point of the joke: that the definition varies wildly depending on who you are, how you define yourself, and what your priorities are in doing so.
quote:Nerd (adjective: nerdy) is a descriptive term, often used pejoratively, indicating that a person is overly intellectual, obsessive, or socially impaired. They may spend inordinate amounts of time on unpopular, obscure, or non-mainstream activities, which are generally either highly technical or relating to topics of fiction or fantasy, to the exclusion of more mainstream activities.[1][2][3] Additionally, many nerds are described as being shy, quirky, and unattractive,[4] and may have difficulty participating in, or even following, sports. Though originally derogatory, "Nerd" is a stereotypical term, but as with other pejoratives, it has been reclaimed and redefined by some as a term of pride and group identity.
Which is more or less how I define it, or "Weird Al" nerdy. Specifically, an interest in hobbies and activities that are are both outside of the cultural norm and are primarily intellectual in nature. The way you look or the job you have doesn't necessarily change that. For example, last night I was on duty (basically a 24 hour watch) at a barracks, and there were 10 Marines in the barracks lounge playing Dungeons and Dragons. They were all good looking men in great physical shape, but they were also "nerds" (and call themselves such proudly) in the sense they were engaging in a complex, cerebral, and non-mainstream activity as their means of relaxing on a Friday night. (as opposed to another group, who went out to a few clubs and drank and socialized with strangers) Interestingly, that definition places fantasy football as a decidedly "nerdy" activity, despite the protests of a lot of people who do it.
Hollywood has a tendency of treating "nerd" as an aesthetic or a fashion statement at times, especially now that the term has come to have more positive connotations. This is generally far more flagrant with depictions of female "nerds" (think Taylor Swift in glasses somehow transforming herself by, well, taking off her glasses and putting on a dress and totally awing her boy friend. "OMG! I, a typical 17 year old hormone riddled male had no idea you were actually smokin' hot, because you hid it all behind your glasses." said no one ever) to the point where female nerds in Hollywood are often *entirely* defined by whether or not they wear t-shirts and glasses. (They may occasionally be allowed to, say, be good at math. Because you have to be a nerd if you're a girl and can math, according to Hollywood) But this is a common trend for guys too. How do you want your audience to know that total studmuffin is an adorable nerd? Put him in some glasses and a button down! Give him an awkward haircut, maybe a stammer or something.
It's lead to small movement with the "I heart nerds" shirts, etc. of people who are attracted to the nerd aesthetic, or even to certain actors who play nerdy characters, but aren't actually interested in/cognizant of anything having to do with being a nerd. I see this a lot with guys who say "I want to date a gamer girl" (which seems to be me to a sub-genre of "cool girl") and girls who say "I love nerds/nerds are so adorable." Or of something I've seen recently, a group of girls (around my age, early 20s) wearing (fake) glasses in a selfie with a caption of "OMG! We're such nerds, lol!"
More often then not, they mean a certain aesthetic or persona, whereas the people who actually embody the traditional definition of nerd either don't care for the aesthetic, and if they do portray it it's accidental/out of habit or rejection of "cool" clothing. (nerdy could be seen as the fashion opposite to cool) Or they do care, but only tangentially. It's not the reason why they took up those hobbies. Because in real life nerds can be anyone from Vin Diesel to, well, the guy in the picture I posted.
Posts: 2222 | Registered: Dec 2008
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I should stress I don't think this sort of popularization of nerd chic is a bad thing. If anything, it's a sign our society is becoming more accepting or even appreciative of intellectualism, which is great.
Posts: 2222 | Registered: Dec 2008
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quote:Originally posted by Dogbreath: I should stress I don't think this sort of popularization of nerd chic is a bad thing. If anything, it's a sign our society is becoming more accepting or even appreciative of intellectualism, which is great.
Until the next thing. Posts: 5957 | Registered: Oct 2001
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quote:Originally posted by advice for robots: I wonder if some of the male characters will be switched to females. There aren't a lot of females in the books.
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