Reply #7: Depends on subgroups [View All]

[Mitsuko]

Hi, newbie here. I like this board better than the politics boards...they're so intense. I'm scared to post over there.

Regarding nerds, my opinion is that they are generally a better group of people. However, if you break the tribe down into subgroups then it's a different story. I live and work in the SF/ Silicon Valley area of California, a.k.a. nerd central due to the high tech and biotech industries, not to mention Stanford University and UC Berkeley. I went to UCB, and IMO academic nerds are the nicest and most unassuming subgroup. Then there are the high tech nerds, specifically the guys, who are very much defined not only by their supposed intellectual superiority, but also by status and consumerist fervor.

I've dated geeks who work for Google, Yahoo and Genentech among others, I'd say a lot of them are very status-conscious. I can't count how many times dates or boyfriends bragged to me about things like customized cars, gourmet kitchen, expensive watches, and the latest high tech gadgets. I recently left a lunch date early because of the nerd complaining about the measly $100 rebate given by Apple to diehard nerds like himself, who braved the resentment and ridicule of the masses by procuring the initial iPhones. Boo hoo, I'm supposed to feel sorry for someone who could afford to spend $600 on a non-essential gadget like the iPhone. I bet the busboy clearing our table really felt my date's pain---not.

Women nerds are great on the whole, I wish I was more nerdy so as to be counted as one.