Myth:
Characteristics: Well-combed oiled-up hair, thick glasses, always in shirt and trousers, tensed look, continuously blinking eyes, brisk gait.
Reality:
Characteristics: Cannot be stereotyped, although some of the previous traits may be observed.
NERD. The very word is irritating for some, isn’t it? The mere mention makes one picture a person who’s 24×7 into books, non – cooperative in mass bunking, teacher’s pet, assignment machine, and journal updater. I leave the rest of the names to your imagination. It’s quite easy to criticize a person just because he studies a bit more than the others and fares well, thereby branding him a nerd. In fact no one even cares to think whether he really is a nerd or not.
So that gives us two categories of nerds, according to me, one who really is a nerd, and the other who is the misunderstood nerd.
Let’s speak about the misunderstood one first. Consider a typical classroom situation. Question asked, answer waited. A person on the first bench answers. The answer is unexpectedly accurate. This happens over and over again. There, he’s branded with the golden word. What if he’s just answering because no one else was willing to ? And he might have waited for a good deal of time giving a chance to others. Or maybe he has a passion for that subject? But the cynical world never ceases to surprise anyone. He may not always answer, but since he has done so a couple of times, the brand value stays. He might be the one who actually has understood the topic. In fact, he might just be someone who sat on the first bench just because there was no place at the back! These people don’t care if people call them a nerd, because it matters nothing to them. THIS is the significant point of differentiation.
Now let’s move on to the real time nerds. These are creatures that seemingly have very less time with every passing moment, hence dying to utilize it to the fullest. Always seen with a book in hand combined with a look on the face which suggests that the world might break down any time. Books are God and he is a disciple. The worship goes on day in and day out. He may be the cunning and crafty one, doing assignments which others are not aware of, thereby enjoying their plight when submissions are done. He only cares about getting the highest marks. The dominant tool of learning is by the rote way. Coming second is the end of the world to them. These people will instantly snap back when you call them a nerd. The distinctive point.
So to sum up, it is not important whether people brand you as a nerd or not. You have to trust yourself enough to decide who you are.
GET SMART.
Nikhil Nayak
Fourth Year, Computer Engineering
D. J. Sanghvi College Of Engineering
