"A: When is Doraemon's birthday again?
B: May 19.
A: I see.
B: Wait, it's Miiko's. Doraemon's is September 3.
C: [cynical laugh] Neeerd."
This conversation happened months ago between me and two friends. It was coming out as a joke, nobody was offended, but it got me thinking: What does 'nerd' really mean? Is it an unshaped, overweight or skinny person with braces and zits all over his/her face who excels at Math, Physics or any other science subjects? Or is it a socially awkward person who reads HTML code like the back of his/her hand? Or is it just that they're not in your self-claimed cool clique that you classify them as uncool and therefore identified as geek/nerd? Or is it that they just happen to read much more than you do that it turns them into a walking encyclopedia that somehow intimidating you with their broad knowledge of, well, almost everything?
I have to admit that I was once a much more judgmental person. You're into online video game? Nerd. You're into anime and cosplay? Geek. You're into analysis and research? Get a life. But now that I am working in a management consulting firm where finding a Stanford / Harvard / Oxford / Cambridge graduate is just as easy as finding a fashion blogger in curated fashion exhibition, my once-defined line between geek/nerd and jaw-droppingly smart people is now blurred. One is not necessarily classified as a geek/nerd for excelling at something not many people (or you) do. This firm makes me value identities more through the positive impact you have in others. It also shapes me into a much more open-minded and less judgmental individual than I was. Does having a PhD in chemical engineering make one a socially awkward person who spends days in front of laptop gulping soda on daily basis? Not really. (Unless their deck is due) Does being a magna cum laude Cambridge graduate classify one as an introvert individual who's hardly in touch with society? Don't think so. (Unless you have a client's BOD meeting in a week and your deck is due) A 3.8 GPA does not necessarily mean he/she is an uncool individual who hardly goes and are invited to parties since they don't party like you do. Surprise surprise, they also do...sometimes even harder.
It probably sounds like a dream team: A deadly combination between people who work hard and play harder. Well, in fact, it definitely is. They're the kind of people you would love to talk about anything to. From politics to economy, from fashion to music. They're those open-minded people who hardly judge people since they value intelligence more than what music you listen to. People who are annoyed if you don't get things done more than if you talk like the Kardashian sisters. (Well, they're still annoying to me though) And if you don't think you're intelligent enough to jump into their clique, they would be more than happy to 'scale' yourself up since sharing and feedback is a culture they firmly hold on to. Yes, it also means that one day you'll be 'upgraded' with more knowledge from the sharing session, and another day you'll be crashing down for being criticized blatantly for your lack of performance. *shrugs*
Bottom line is, when someone is not into the cool stuffs you're into, or always knows something about everything, or just simply not in the same clique of your social butterfly clique, or whose occupation is not as cool as you think (y'know, cool jobs like fashion blogger, photographer, or simply a 'socialite' [if that's even a job]), it does not mean you're superior than them. They might know much more than you do, they just happen to talk about it only with people they're comfortable with or share the same or even broader knowledge with. Because they value deep conversation more than small talk. (It doesn't mean they don't do small talk though. I was once in a team who talked about Olivia Pope's style for almost one hour straight. #girltalk )
When intelligence, Chanel handbag, Patek Philippe watch, and Benz car can go together, why should be coolness only defined by two or three out of the four?
