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Comment by UUMMUU | Hacker News Reader

The Tumblr part where the kids are saying "I'm a huge nerd" or "I'm a big geek" made me unnecessarily angry. Why did being a nerd have to become a trendy thing? I remember when my love of C++ and Calculus wasn't something to brag about. I guess I'm just old.

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I don't think it's a trendy thing, I think the etymology of the word "nerd" has evolved to mean that you have a deep and detailed understanding of a particular subject.

Perhaps Tumblr, in the eyes of teens, has a steeper learning curve than spewing out pictures with Instagram/Snapchat and being adept with the platform indicates you have better technical capabilities.

Either way, I don't think it's a bad thing that the word "nerd" has changed in this manner.

Are you silently protesting the spelling of tumblr or was that just a typo?

Just a typo. I fixed it.

I think the etymology of the word "nerd" has evolved to mean that you have a deep and detailed understanding of a particular subject.

I more see it used as a way to signal that you are interested in a subject relatively more than whatever main group you identify with. So someone would call themselves a "book nerd" even if they only read a couple books a year, because most of their friends don't read at all.

> I think the etymology of the word "nerd" has evolved to mean that [...]

I don't think the definition of the word "etymology" has evolved to mean "definition" (or "current usage").

Nerds developed our own culture. Now it's being aggressively colonized by the mainstream culture and the actual nerds being sidelined again.

It's not a trendy thing. Tumblr is, in fact, a platform for outcasts and niche fandoms that would otherwise be ridiculed on any mainstream sites or even anonymous sites like 4chan or reddit. They are using the words "nerd" and "geek" in the original, correct sense of the word. It is you who is using these words wrong. "Geek" means "freak". "Nerd" means "social outcast". It does not mean "I can code and know math".

By your definition these people should not be proud to declare themselves nerds. They are, however, proudly declaring themselves as nerds meaning it's something they see as a badge of honor. I would suggest you look up what the word means before telling me I'm using it incorrectly. Have a nice day.

It became trendy when "nerds" and ostensibly nerd-related things started making tons of money. Now it's mainly signaling: you can be a nerd for knowing some secret Facebook shortcut.

hah, no kidding. The term is thrown around so easily now that in most circles it's lost it's meaning and resorted to someone with a very basic understanding of anything.

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