Even whilst on a laser tag league that subsequently got me into the practice of psionics I never really thought myself as one, probably because of its connotation at the time. Now, it's boastful. Or is it crap?

rsmurphy wrote: Sat Mar 09, 2024 2:43 pm Even whilst on a laser tag league that subsequently got me into the practice of psionics

How are your powers developing?

losthighway wrote: Sat Mar 09, 2024 4:00 pm How are your powers developing?

Underdeveloped powers. Stepped off during astral and voice projection, but I feel it's an innate strength.

The nerd/hipster line is so blurry at this point I don't even know. I'm sure I've been called both. (Metrosexual too.)

rsmurphy wrote: Sat Mar 09, 2024 2:43 pm Even whilst on a laser tag league that subsequently got me into the practice of psionics I never really thought myself as one, probably because of its connotation at the time. Now, it's boastful.

Agree, its connotation has changed. Not sure if I’d go so far as to say it’s boastful, but maybe is now neutral. For example, my daughters do lots of stuff that I would consider “nerdy” but it doesn’t seem to be inherently tied to their coolness or popularity anymore.

Is it crap? I don’t know. I proudly fit a lot of the stereotype. It is just a thing I guess. Abstain.

Was crap in the US 80s-90s, for sure, as my psychoanalyst will attest.

Thought it was a verb now.

I hate the way the definition of nerd has changed from being somebody who is intelligent and knowledgeable but not very socially adept, to being somebody who consumes everything the Marvel Capitalist Universe spits out, without any particular expectation of intelligence or aptitude.

ChudFusk wrote: Sat Mar 09, 2024 5:08 pm I hate the way the definition of nerd has changed from being somebody who is intelligent and knowledgeable but not very socially adept, to being somebody who consumes everything the Marvel Capitalist Universe spits out, without any particular expectation of intelligence or aptitude.

Yup, nerd has replaced/subsumed dork and the world is a worse place for it.

Not sure if the definition of nerd changed so much as nerds themselves changed.

I remember a friend of mine pointing this out after Columbine: that nerds had decided, unconsciously, that they would no longer look weak. They would look badass. But their idea of badass came from comic books, so out went the glasses and pocket protectors, and in came the nunchucks and trenchcoats.

Wood Goblin wrote: Sat Mar 09, 2024 9:32 pm I remember a friend of mine pointing this out after Columbine: that nerds had decided, unconsciously, that they would no longer look weak. They would look badass. But their idea of badass came from comic books, so out went the glasses and pocket protectors, and in came the nunchucks and trenchcoats.

Yes, a dark day for the world when the KMFDM fans decided that violence was the answer.

I feel like I had a nerd adjacent adolescence and many of my friends were livin' the lifestyle: a decision that still meant yr social collateral took a hit in the mid 90s / early 00s (pre-internet world).

Low status outcasts, but they were often decent, well-adjusted people who were engaged in wholesome escapist hobbies. Some very smart, some not so smart. No girls, no cool points, but the idea was to play yr own games on the sidelines and adopt this subculture that enabled a functional social space. They might get bullied a little, but there was little sport in it as the while thing was so inoffensive and unthreatening.

I did a little Games Workshop as a pre-pubescent and went to see the first few comic book films (X-Men, Reimi's first Spiderman) but once the hormones hit it was punk rock (not metal, that was for dorks), teenage alcoholism, x-dressing and what few drugs I could get my hands on. I thought I was too cool for the nerds; tragically, I was too damaged for them.

IMO by the end of the 00s the whole world simply got more nerdy: more low t, less obsessed w/ status signifyers, more sedentary (internet / video games). I think it's a ddddddreadful state of affairs, though there's something interesting in the observation that the superhero films are the refuge for heroic archetypes and moral myths - such a shame it's so infantile and commercialised, but at least the flame is sheltered somewhere...