What Exactly is a Nerd?

Intellectual people (* see 'nerds', 'geeks' and 'freaks') are people who choose to live life with unorthodox standards and by always seeking to learn more of the world around them. For many centuries, it has already been proven that those who go beyond the normal core of knowledge instantly become the enemy of those who do not have the same understanding as those who have made this their goal on life.

While in school, if we do successfully in whatever we do, society has a nasty tendency of putting labels on great minds, like the ones that I have stated above. Since this has been so prevelent in history, why don't we site examples that show that intelligence has proven not to be a detriment but a great boon to mankind in our advancement in such areas as astronomy, physics, nuclear technologies, computers and the like.

First, why don't we look at the greater minds of the earlier eras that would have been classified as 'geeks' and 'nerds' of their own time, and what their efforts have done in the advancement of society:

1) Capernicus and Galileo: These two great early astronomers are the reason that we have made great steps into space and have discovered the secrets of the moon and the possibilty of other planets and galaxies other than our own. galilieo was the first great scientist that proved the reality of gravity, and in return, the church locked him up because of his discoveries and he was never heard from again. Capernicus proved that the earth revolved around the sun and was instantly discredited for his discovery.

2)Leonardo DaVinci: One of the great artists, sculptors, and visionaries in our time that had such concepts as the tank and helicopter, and was the first to draw a sketch of the human body, which furthered the causes of medicine.

3) Orville and Wilbur Wright: Where would we be without these men, as they were the first to conceive the possibility that man could fly the skies, and at Kitty hawk, actually proved it. Without them, we would not have air travel, aerodynamics, and aeronautical engineering.

So, while we revere these men in our history books, why all of a sudden are those that seek knowledge suddenly wrong in the eyes of others? Have we done something wrong to upset those that stand in positions of power that we have done an act or formed a theory that will upset this delicate balance?

The famous author, George Orwell, in his works has often posed this question, such as 'Animal Farm' and '1984', where the stories plummeted the reader into the true nature of humanity, where equality is often made only by making sure that everyone's mentality is the same as everyone else's, which allows those who remain in power positions to stay on top. There is a phrase that Orwell uses in his famous novel, 'Animal Farm' that actually made sense to me in this respect, and the first time that I heard it, it hits home every time that I see it or hear it: 'Some pigs are more equal than other pigs'. If this is truly the state of human nature, then why is it that we have advanced so far.....or have we?

Another author that cites this is Kurt Vonnegut in his work 'Harrison Bergeron', where the main character is introduced into a society that is controlled by those that are of greater intelligence, and they teach that if you are not the average person, then there must be something wrong with you. In the end, harrison ended up comitting suicide on camera in order to show that intelligence will more often times than not get you into trouble. So, what are the literary greats and history trying to tell us about intelligence?

In The Bible, it states that 'with much knowledge comes much sorrow', and yet we still advance ourselves in any way possible. We are still trying to find cures for the common cold and other ailments. We still send space shuttle into space in order to find the mysteries of the universe. We allow oursleves to think spiritually about our faith and attempt to make sense out of the corporeal though we still cannot see it. We look for newer technologies that will make our work faster, better defend our country, or just to have a good time. So, could it not be said that we are all 'nerds' and 'geeks' in our own respect?

While a great many steroetypes comes from the American public, Hollywood, and other sources, those that are of great intellect are often overlooked, except if perchance they happen to win something such as a Pulitzer or the Nobel Peace Prize. Those who are not that lucky are always looked upon with this label, and yet people do not even know them. Many great minds are still coming into fruition, from the smallest child to the largest doctorate, studying science, math, literature, journalism, and other pursuits, and they often go unnoticed because those that are part of the establishment would rather take credit than acknowledge these people's achievements. So, what happens? These people become an oddity to society because of the paths they choose.

In today's society, we have the great intellectual minds, but most of the common ordinary people choose not to look into these matters, as they feel that they are not important to them. Most people look at what they need to get by in life, such as the house, the car, and getting their kids to college. What they don't reealize is that they are turning their own children into these intellectuals. They go to school, then college, and then meet the real world with a newer and fresher perspective than when they first started. They are introduced to new technologies and theoligies, as well as different ways of thinking. So, should these titles even exist because of this simple fact in reality?

So, what exactly is a nerd? A nerd is all of us, as we all have to learn and grow, as it is a simple fact of life. We all want to strive to succeed and understand the world at large and even things that we cannot see. We read, watch TV, play games, go on bicycles rides, and so forth. As we pass more judgments, we casue this process to decline and therefore halt this progress by making it harder for people to include themselves in society. So, instead of doing this, why can we not encourage ourselves to go farther? It doesn't mean that life stops, but rather life begins as we learn new things. As we learn new things, we can help further the causes of humanity, such as limiting homelessness, the pursuit of peace, and even maybe a cure for a disease where there has been thought to be not cure, such as HIV and diabetes. One day, we may be able to stamp out racism completely or have better foreign policies so we can come to better agreement with our foreign neighbors.

In essence, a 'nerd' is someone who thinks beyond the normal scope of things, and that is something that we all want to do. So, before we settle on titles and start handing them out, why don't we look and give a new title : 'Thought-provoking, intelligent, insightful human beings.'