Scalzi coined the term nerdgassing, which is what happens when a nerd sees something that goes against scifi canon, and can’t help but exclaim about it (I am guilty of this myself, of course).
When I read his post, I remembered that I myself have coined a term. It came about while standing around an airport waiting to catch a flight to an American Astronomical Society years ago. Basically, it became fun for the few of us traveling together to try to spot other astronomers in the airport. They couldn’t be astronomers we knew, of course, since that’s no fun. And it was no fair to point out someone who was carrying a poster tube, since that’s a dead giveaway — at scientific meetings there are "poster sessions" where scientists can present their work on a poster, with hundreds of such posters displayed in the exhibit hall. Seeing someone carrying a poster tube in an airport is therefore an unfair giveaway.
No, you need to spot the subtle and the gross: the posture (semi-slouched), the haircut (home cut or possibly not recently washed), the clothes (yikes, just yikes)*. After a while we got pretty good at it. You just learn to spot them, sometimes from well across the airport.
If you can do this, you see, you have nerdar. It’s like gaydar, but for, well, nerds.
 |
| A potential demonstration of nerdar in the field. |
Interestingly, my wife has excellent nerdar. I’m not sure why. Maybe being in such close proximity to one has honed her senses.
So having been immersed in the procedure, I wound up coining the term. A google search reveals many hits for the word, and even some using it the way I intended it. However, since I have some limited ability to function in society, I figure if anyone fights me for the rights I can intimidate them by making some reference to pop culture with which they are unaware, thus discombobulating them and allowing me to claim victory.
Haha! <Stewie voice>Victory (nerdar) is mine!</Stewie voice>
May I add, nerdar comes in handy. At scientific conferences it can be used to find people to split cab fare with, or to find other folks heading off to dinner at meetings. And who knows? Evolutionary pressures can easily magnify this skill, and it could possibly be passed down to the next generation. Obviously, nerdar has potential as a preliminary way — an icebreaker, if you will — for scientists to meet and eventually mate with one another. If it can be transcribed into our genetic pattern, then it becomes self-fulfilling.
Can mating calls be far behind? Bright plumage, ritual moves, pecking orders, stimulus-and-response vocal patterns…
Oh, right. We do that now. Well OK, I called it. I guess I have nerdar nerdar.
*Not to imply that this applies to all astronomers. There is a growing and, for me, hope-inducing crop of young astronomers who are cool, trendy, and attractive. I might even have photos posted soon to prove it. The last night of the AAS is the traditional dance party, and much fun was had by all…
June 6th, 2008 at 9:39 am
Ah, but the real trick is spotting the closet nerds!
“Embrace your inner nerd!”
June 6th, 2008 at 9:50 am
I like your use of a scene from “The Big Bang Theory”. Of course, I’m biased, having previously worked for the show’s creator/writer Bill Prady, and his former partner, the real-life Howard Wolowitz.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0898266/
June 6th, 2008 at 9:59 am
This reminds me of a very funny Family Guy joke: Peter Griffin says “This is sweeter than 72 virgins waiting for a suicide bomber.” Cut away to the pearly gates: A suicide bomber walks in and sees 72 nerds on laptops playing “Magic: the Gathering”. He then curses Osama Bin Laden.
June 6th, 2008 at 10:21 am
Crystallographers have the same thing – shorts and white socks in sandals is claimed to be a good marker. Beards too (to carry around seed crystals).
We too, though, have an up and coming well-dressed generation.
Arnold Zwicky had a nice bit on -dar.
June 6th, 2008 at 10:25 am
Nerdar works great, but only for other nerds.
unfortunately the non-nerds that are the really hot women, don’t have the ability (most of the time) to see us nerdy types. Obviously, or I wouldn’t still be single.
June 6th, 2008 at 10:29 am
Actually, I noticed an age trend at AAS meetings. The older and more established you are, the less well-dressed you tend to go.
June 6th, 2008 at 10:49 am
I play this game at APS meetings (physics) and AIA (archeology) meetings. It’s almost too easy to pick out APS members – they wear the badge from day break until they go to sleep, and maybe they don’t even take it off then. If someone near an APS meeting isn’t wearing a badge but is a) staring at local 4-story buildings like they’re amazing skyscrapers or b) looking generally vacant or confused, it’s also a great hint.
At AIA I just look for people wearing black, or barring that, very high heels.
June 6th, 2008 at 10:59 am
And who knows? Evolutionary pressures can easily magnify this skill, and it could possibly be passed down to the next generation.
Certainly not as a breeding advantage; given the traditional nature of a nerd, a woman with nerdar (if she’s not a nerd herself) would go the opposite direction and never encounter nerds. Though, I guess something like this could contribute to the creation of Morlock/Eloi rift.
Still, I guess I use Evangeladar to avoid being prosyletized on campus and Exitpolladar to avoid getting hit by cranks pushing surveys while walking through the student center.
June 6th, 2008 at 11:04 am
And only a true nerd would rap about text based gaming: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nigRT2KmCE
Do you “get” the references? Check out some of the boxes in the background.
June 6th, 2008 at 11:37 am
The thing is, nerdism is likely a recessive trait. As example, of my three children, though all three rank in the top one or two percent in intellect, only my son could be even remotely identified as a nerd and that only by his conversation. Somehow he learned(though certainly not from me) to dress well and pass as that strange critter, a nerd with a personality. His sisters are merely beautiful and intelligent.
As I observe them grow, I keep wondering if there was a strange, personable milkman in the neighborhood,,,
Gary 7
June 6th, 2008 at 11:39 am
And here I was hoping the ladies knew I was a NASA guy by the swashbuckling grin, quick wit, and savvy clothing choices. I’m guessing it’s really expanded view rocket engine windows background, welder’s tan*, and uncontrollable hair.
“Did I just hear that girl say ‘finite element analysis’? Someone introduce me. Forget it, I’ll do it myself.”
* for those not in the know, welder’s tan extends from partway up the forearm to the mid bicep. Basically, where the gloves stop to the t-shirt. Professional welders usually do not get this because they’ve learned to wear coveralls when working. Prototype guys usually don’t think to change clothes.
June 6th, 2008 at 11:44 am
“There is a growing and, for me, hope-inducing crop of young astronomers who are cool, trendy, and attractive.”
Flattery will do you no good…but don’t stop
June 6th, 2008 at 11:57 am
One of the authors of A Miracle Of Science wrote a news post once that said, in part: “I can imagine mad scientists going to ridiculous lengths to attract one another’s attention in a weird analogue of the peacock’s display of his bright tail. Carving each other’s names in the side of the Himalayas with a giant Moon-based laser, causing the Sun to flare in a Morse code love letter…”
June 6th, 2008 at 12:13 pm
Unfortunately, this trait will probably not be able to infiltrate the gene pool, as extensive nerd inbreeding will lead to excessive cloistering (in labs, observatories, etc) of the carriers of the gene.
June 6th, 2008 at 12:34 pm
Nerds tend to attract mates who are more socially outgoing, which predisposes nerd mating rituals. I suspect that this has been the case for millennia: The Roman story of Vulcan and Venus is a classic nerd / socially outgoing pairing.
We should not overlook that there are different subsets of nerds. BA’s description of astronomers should not be taken as representative of engineering nerds (who tend to be better groomed than the typical nerd, but who lean toward conservative, button-down, clothing). Tech nerds tend to be slightly grubbier than engineering nerds, have a gruffer demeanor, and have more gadgets than Batman hanging from their belt. If you are unsure if you are encountering a engineering nerd or a tech nerd, look for a Leatherman ™ multi-tool on their belt. If they have one, they are most likely a tech nerd.
There are other variations. For example, Geology nerds go for pocket transits.
Be aware that nerds can learn to pass as standard humans, particularly if they have a non-nerd spouse. The little things betray us, though. Like multi-tools, calculators squirreled away in a pocket, etc.
June 6th, 2008 at 12:52 pm
About ten years ago I attended a Society of Actuaries meeting at a beautiful hotel on Maui. As my wife and I walked into the lobby on arrival, there was a beautiful local girl there who presented each of us with a lei and said: “You must be with the actuaries.”
“That’s right,” I said, “how did you know?”
“They told me to look for people with glasses,” she said.
June 6th, 2008 at 1:25 pm
This “nerdar” might be somewhat useful for recognizing astronomers, but as everyone knows, we biologists are all beautiful, exotic creatures who know too much about sex to fit into the nerd category.
June 6th, 2008 at 1:45 pm
Someone’s in denial.
June 6th, 2008 at 1:46 pm
Phil – you wrote that you got pretty good at figuring out who were the astronomers. My question is – how do you know? Did you go up and ask each one to objectively assess your accuracy? If not, perhaps your perceived accuracy was just subjective validation or self-fulfilling (a version of the toupe fallacy).
Nerdar is even more problematic – in order to say that it meant anything you would have to use criteria to decide that someone qualified as a nerd that were different than the observed traits you used to “predict” someone was a nerd. Otherwise this is completely circular – I can tell nerds by looking at them; someone is a nerd if they look like one to me.
I know, I’m just being a skeptinerd. (Hey – I just coined that term, you have to pay me a quarter every time you use it.)
June 6th, 2008 at 2:06 pm
Too true, KC. %DIETY% only knows how I’d dress myself if it weren’t for being married to a non-nerd with a sense of fashion
‘mute
June 6th, 2008 at 2:13 pm
T’was the voice of experience, Wintermute, t’was the voice of experience.
If it wasn’t for my wife, i’d probably dress in solid colors only. Much easier to match. Or plaid.
June 6th, 2008 at 2:46 pm
“Jocks only think about sports, nerds only think about sex.”
If I have to tell you where this is from….
June 6th, 2008 at 3:05 pm
Engineers tend have egos that can fit into only the largest staduims, some place engineerin students wear shirts with the initials ERTW (engineers rule the world). Biology has more women, astronomers can do can things better in the dark then any other group.
June 6th, 2008 at 3:08 pm
I’m coining “probably is or has at least one time been a basketball player dar”.
If anybody tries to take credit for that, I’ll kill them. And no, I will not reveal the one trait that tips me off that someone probably is or has at least one time been a basketball player. That, I take to my grave.
June 6th, 2008 at 3:08 pm
I think possibly the nerdiest thing I could do right now is point out that “close proximity” is a tautology.
June 6th, 2008 at 3:48 pm
Forget poster tubes…anyone who name’s their “handle” after Japanese cartoons is a nerd in my books.
June 6th, 2008 at 3:57 pm
[...] I know, but when I was learning chemistry I found that phenomenon really interesting. I know your NERDAR is blipping at me. Blip away!) Anyway, he then went on to say that he was supposed to take physics [...]
June 6th, 2008 at 4:00 pm
All you are doing is spotting ‘similar nerds’.
The nerdar trick is great for spotting nerds that fit into your stereotyped nerd box, but in actual fact nerds exist outside that box too. Big nerds. Huge Nerds! Nerds that don’t look like nerds. They also sometimes have this neat trick where they change their speech pattern to avoid nerdar. For example, they will not mention anything to do with science or science -fiction for hours, sometimes days! .. in order to blend into different environments for ease of survival. Now that is nerdy. They are somewhat the chameleon of the nerd world.
You need to reprogram your nerdar to detect ‘chamelenerd’.
June 6th, 2008 at 4:04 pm
<__>
I have no idea what you’re talking about. None whatsoever. Please, do go on about the big game tomorrow, it’s fascinating stuff.
June 6th, 2008 at 4:24 pm
PZ: You may know a great deal about the sex, but frankly I think the last thing a girl wants to hear in the throws of passion is how you’re aware that her excretion and reproduction parts are all piped in together:
http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2008/05/another_reason_to_wear_underwe.php
Everyone knows they just want a guy who can really take them out of this world. That’s why rocket scientists are so popular :p But perhaps it takes a rocket scientists to know that. I can never tell- any nuclear physicists or brain surgeons want to chime in? Dr. Novella?
And being a reader of pharyngula and SBM, fancy seeing you two here. Gave me that “walked into a biker bar in a suit and tie” feeling.
June 6th, 2008 at 5:15 pm
YOU JUST WANT TO MATE?!
YOU’RE NOT MATIN’ WITH ME, SUNSHINE!
I agree with Steven Novella. You should totally put together a double-blinded study of this effect. I do think that there are subtle and not-so-subtle signals that people perceive to come to the conclusion that people are gay, nerd, or even bikers. Even gay, nerdy bikers.
Anecdote: When I first was hired for my current position, there was an orientation class to get us acquainted with hospital procedures and benefits, etc., and we of course did the tell us your name, where in the hospital you’ll be working, and a little about yourself. I noticed one of the men in the class who didn’t mention anything about motorcycles in his intro, but during the break, I asked him if he was a biker, and he was really surprised. He was in fact a biker, but was confused as to how I could know. I’ve played in pool leagues and there’s a lot of overlap in the pool-player and motorcycle-enthusiast Venn diagram. The big diamond stud earring, the handlebar moustache, the cut of the hair, the glasses with large lenses and a slight tint, the tough-yet-friendly demeanor: all of these were little signals that added up to my strong suspicion of his being a biker.
One more anecdote and we have data!!
June 6th, 2008 at 5:41 pm
So, what happens if you happen to have gaydar and nerdar? Then, suppose you detect a gay nerd? Would that be “gaynerdar” or “nergaydar”?
PZ: Your comments activated my “pervdar.”
June 6th, 2008 at 7:29 pm
Phil,
You forgot to mention the easiest way to tell an astronomer just coming off an observing run is: the huge, dark circles under the eyes, dazed look, blinking at bright lights, and of course, immediately falling asleep once they are on the plane.
June 6th, 2008 at 8:52 pm
The Big Bang Theory is an amazing show – I can only hope it goes on for 20 seasons like the Simpsons
June 6th, 2008 at 9:25 pm
Having grown up a Mormon, one of my superpowers is “missionary-dar” — I can identify them literally two blocks away. It’s also fun to play “spot the Mormon” in airports, though on flights between, say, Salt Lake City and San Diego it’s a bit too easy.
June 6th, 2008 at 11:06 pm
Hmm…..
Slouchy posture? Check. Un-coiffed hair? Check. The clothes? Do tie-dye sarongs and a windbreaker count? (Definitely ‘yikes’, but not quite the same way…)
Though truly, I rate higher on the “geek” scale than “nerd”.
June 7th, 2008 at 1:36 am
My problem is that while I set off the nerdar of quite a few interesting people, my social position has always been such that I’ve always been able to rank myself above most other nerds and refused to get to know them better. It seems like arrogance, but it’s more cowardice than anything.
As a result, I’m a very, very lonely nerd, even if I seem successful to others (in terms of secondary things like wealth etc.).
June 7th, 2008 at 4:20 am
In my own science (archaeology) the typical geek (I prefer that to the word nerd) comes in many different outlook varieties depending on specialization.
One thing gives them all away though, when they are outside – they always look at the ground. Classical archaeologists are an exception to that rule, they don’t ever look down.
Confusion with non-archaeologists is possible with both experimental archaeologists and prehistorians (with an added confusion introduced by the nearby field of palaeontology). Many having a beard, wearing ragged old clothes and looking down at the ground, frequently stooping to pick something up, you can confuse them with homeless easily….
June 7th, 2008 at 4:28 am
Oh, I forgot: at a conference, you can spot the archaeologists because they go straight for the bar….
June 7th, 2008 at 4:30 am
But then again: in that last situation you can confuse them with science writers….
June 7th, 2008 at 12:22 pm
Marco:
Looking at the ground?
Ahhh, I thought those were severely depressed people that had lost all hope.
June 7th, 2008 at 5:29 pm
Michael:
Ah, yes, well that is the typical effect indeed on people trying to build a career in academic archaeology ….
June 10th, 2008 at 11:20 pm
Nice! I recently went to a different type of nerd conference (ACS). One of our pastimes was “spot the nerd”, it worked out quite well and we made some friends. I do have to say…. not all nerds want to be spotted on Bourbon St.
I have added “nerdar” to my vocabulary, I’m sure it will be useful.