My favorite definition of nerd is,
Someone who gets excited learning and obtaining new information for its own sake. Nerds don’t care if the information is useful or not.
Yes!! Years ago a friend years looked at me with some disdain and said, “You’re a scholar! You learn things for the joy of it, not for any useful purpose.” I think it was meant as an insult, but I took it as a compliment.
These are wondrous times for us nerds. It blows me away how much information we have at our fingertips. I’ve been especially enjoying The Great Courses Plus. I stream while I exercise and have watched most of their history series. Now I’m looking at a lot of their science programs, especially astronomy and modern physics. Some of the teachers do a great job in explaining and illustrating their material…they’re excited about their subject and want to share their passion.
What do you get excited about?
April 19, 2021
I think that learning new things is what keeps us going. Even if it’s something simple.
I think I get most excited about creative/crafty things.
That’s a big one too. One book on creativity is entitled, How Much Joy Can You Stand? The main thing is to know what works for us.
I guess that definition clearly makes me a fully paid-up nerd. Especially as it’s not just information I soak up but also ideas. I just love playing with ideas.
Me too. My brain is my favorite toy.
My daughter used to ask me, “How do you know that?!” To which I answered, “I don’t know; I must have read it somewhere.” What does it matter how we know that if we enjoyed learning it?
I agree. 🙂
I can get excited about so much. Even trivial, useless, subjects.
That’s a real blessing… one of the secrets to happiness. 🙂
I get excited about beautiful sunsets and flowers. But also learning new and cool things, I think I may be a nerd!
The main thing is to enjoy them as much as possible!
I love finding out how to “make” something, particularly in relationship to my “art making” – or I see an idea and wonder “can I recreate that here”.
But ask me how to do something “new on my computer/phone” and I’m completely lost – mostly to do with technical words that mean nothing to me! Apparently, the new thing I might do is “simple” but that because the person telling me that, knows exactly what all the technical stuff is…
So I keep to simple things like: Last week I was considering buying a heavy weight card-stock for an idea I have – when suddenly I realised I actually had that kind of heavy weight book that I could gut the innards and so when I do finally get to that “book” I have the stuff on hand, great recycling on my part…
I love reading how you create with the things on hand, and that you enjoy it. It’s the joy I care about, not what triggers it. The main thing is to find what works for us.
Oh, my, this would take all day…but I won’t go into it in detail. But some of the main things I have loved almost as long as I can remember. Quilting and sewing, photography, birds, fishing…being in the woods….of course, I did not have cameras when young, but I always was wishing for one. I would have thought I had died and gone to heaven if I had what I have now. LOL
The only I didn’t have was google maps…and I so love them…
I’m glad you’ve had most of these things all your life. For me it’s so much better now than when I was young. The main thing is to appreciate the richness now.
I don’t seem to have a Passion for particular things. I’m just a Little interested in Everything! I like learning how people think. as individuals and as groups.
and I always enjoy “Finding Your Roots” on PBS on Tuesdays.
and I will even watch Bob what’hisname paint pictures. he’s very calming.
and it’s fun to see him create a painting. though they’re not my particular choice. my interests are more people oriented I guess. and yet I don’t think I’m a people person. that’s weird. LOL 😀
I also like to watch cooking shows. and I’m not a cook! I think of my own food as fuel. but it’s fun to watch people create a meal. again. an odd conumdrum. but I’m happy. to me that’s all that matters I guess!
the only label I’ve ever used for myself is Minimalist. and I am passionate about that… as in: the world is drowning in Stuff!
It doesn’t have to be a big passion, a potful of things work too. About cooking shows, yes, me too! And I don’t cook…it doesn’t matter. I especially like the Great British Baking Show.
Off the top of my head….
I get excited, imagining possibilities and what-ifs. Ya, I’m a dream weaver.
The main thing is to have things that excite us, bring us joy. 🙂
When people talk about old people who can’t seem to pull up thoughts promptly I respond with the old saw, “well, it’s because of all the knowledge stored in our heads. It just takes longer to sort through it all.” I hadn’t heard of the Great Courses website before but now shall explore it.
The Great Courses sells DVDs and audiobooks of the courses. The Great Courses Plus does the streaming.
I like blogging and emails more than talking because it gives me all the time I need to think and organize my thoughts. And to look things up! 😀
I get excited when I learn how to do new things…especially in the visual arts.
It’s so important to have something like that. 🙂
I bought our oldest daughter a year’s worth of Great Courses one year for Christmas. She enjoyed it very much. She’s a nerd too. I don’t enjoy learning new information anymore. I think my hard drive is full. ~Andrea xoxo
What a wonderful gift! 🙂
I am with Myra, the dream weaver also she and i are queens of fretting. before I read this post, to me a nerd was someone who was different and found it hard to make friends because they are to smart… i popped out and looked up nerd, and found many definitions, yours and mine and a few others. I think scolar fits you and that is a complement. I love reading and I love learning but not the same things as you do. no history for me, i love fiction above all else, stories in books or in movies. I do like looking up what i call drivel, things i want to knw that make no difference, liek how old is Katy Perry while watching Idol last night. Or what is that actors name, have to look that up. i think i am addicted to research on line into things that don’t matter except I want to know. like the definiton of NERD.. thanks for the prod to check it out. my problem is what i look up, may stay forever but may not last until the next day or hour. Nerd on and enjoy your nerding is what I say…
I want to be a computer geek but can’t retain the knowledge i learn and have to keep looking it up again
I love looking up drivel, do it all the time. And it doesn’t matter if I remember it, I love the searching/exploring. As I keep saying, Andy and my main job is to keep as happy and healthy as we can so Kaitlin doesn’t have to worry about us. I can do that!
I’m fascinated about most anything new to me. I often delve deeper into a topic for a while, then to another. Neurology has been a long-running intriguing subject to me which, of course, had bearing for my professional work, too, for example.