What is the nerdiest thing about you?

Where do I start? I'm a Star Wars and Star Trek fan. I wear glasses and love to read. I'm so encyclopedic in some areas that people come ask me before Googling. I'm autistic. I could go on and on.

I can still name all the superpowers, real names, and home planets of the Legion of Super-Heroes and even also the Legion of Substitutes Heroes up through 1992 (when I stopped reading comics).

For example: Shrinking Violet. Superpowers: Can shrink to microscopic size. Real Name: Salu Digby. Home planet: Imsk.

I've watched Downton Abbey all the way through seven times.

I like playing board games.

I like taking community college courses (especially history) for fun.

Being a Lord of the Rings fan

I'm member #1254 of the Mystery Science Theater 3000 Info Club.

Ocean liners. Total geek over them. Surprised to see so many other gay men who are fans.

I play Stellaris with the Star Trek mod. Maybe .0000001% people know what that means.

I like blue.

I love Gilbert & Sullivan operas.

Learning about planes and plane watching. Being inordinately into aviation news (new routes, etc) for someone not in the industry.

I bet we know each other, r2. What is the alternate name of Brainiac 5's homeworld of Colu?

I can name all the US state capitals...And I've never even been to Murica!

I’m skinny, with glasses and a big dick. I’ve tried working out a few times, but I’m such a nerd, I look ridiculous.

R3- That is not the nerdiest thing about you that is the GAYEST thing about you.

R14- Don't apologize I'm attracted to NERDY guys.

I know from experience exactly what R8 is talking about. Also, I was an officially rated tournament chess player for many years.

I was born in 1991, but I’m obsessed with 80s music. I watch old 80s MTV and VH1 shows on YouTube. I read Wikipedia articles nearly every day about some 80s artist, often really obscure ones. 75% of my songs on Apple Music are from the 80s.

Thanks, mom!

I know from experience exactly what R8 is talking about. Also, I was an officially rated tournament chess player for many years.

Sorry for the double post. My phone doesn't act like it actually posts on DL sometimes.

Where to start??

I was the top scorer in my high school quiz team league.

I learned to read German for fun.

I like popular music from the1920s.

I am a birdwatcher.

I have near-encyclopedic knowledge of all things I Love Lucy. [This might make me a DLer, not a nerd.]

I have a 1970s haircut ... on purpose.

Back in 1996 I was at SPLASH in Chelsea and this VERY good looking guy walked over to me and cruised me. I was SO flattered not just because he was SO good looking but because he was COOL looking. Here was I this NERD being cruised by this COOL looking man.

It's so Junior high school even though I was 30 years old at the time.

R14, I'll bet you're hot.

R21- It sounds like you have GOOD TASTE.

I guess that character on Queer As Folk Ted Schmidt was the PERFECT example of a GAY NERD.

One of my favorite things about traveling is visiting regional grocery stores.

I don't think nerd and geek are the same thing.

When I was in high school my friend and I would go to the GALLERIA and spend the afternoon NOT at the record store but the BOOK store.

R26- Whenever I'm in a foreign country my FAVORITE thing is to check out the supermarket. I love seeing the different products and the packaging. I was in Barcelona in 2011 and I was on my way to a museum and I stopped in a CARRAFOUR supermarket and ended spending 40 minutes perusing the place. It was fun.

I love math. In fact I love math puzzles.

Even during work time, I take a few breaks to go to math.stackexchange.com and answer a few math questions.

This is nothing new. When I was 6 y.o., I would wake up at night and sneak out of my room to read some math books. I spent my childhood and teenagers years devouring math books like others eat cereals. Eventually, I got a PhD in math. It turned useful in my line of work..

r31 I know very little about math (other than at a high school level), but I am kind of fascinated by what I understand about number theory.

Was just reading about Goldbach's conjecture, in fact.

I love Star Trek, the Original Series. I started playing Dungeons & Dragons at age 9 and was really, really into it for years. I still play. In my 20s I had a brief foray of playing Vampire: The Masquerade.

I'm also a big dweeb about medieval history.

R11, omg, me too! I think there was a thread here (a year or so back) on civil aviation enthusiasts. It's weird that an inordinate amount of gay men are fascinated by this topic. I'm sure you've heard of the forum devoted to civil aviation; it's been around for years.

R30 I love doing that, too.

[quote]I don't think nerd and geek are the same thing.

At one time, I'd have agreed. But we've use the words as synonyms long enough that they can mean the same thing, depending on context. We also have "dweeb," per Sylvia in r33, and don't forget the Datalounge definition of "troll," i.e., "enthusiast."

I used to be both a bookstore nerd and a record store geek. I dweeb out on language. I've always gotten A's in English and the foreign languages I've studied. I keep a dictionary on hand while I'm reading, as I can't stand not knowing the meaning of a new word.

On Datalounge, I'm one of the many Italian food nerds, and have been known to post an "Oh, Dear" from time to time. I occasionally post as the Linda Ronstadt troll, the SDFT (Scott DeFreitas troll), and oh, how I love Mahler.

[quote]On Datalounge, I'm one of the many Italian food nerds

But do you drain your pasta, r36?

You're not a nerd until you actually compile a list of products that deserved to be tracked down in local stores before you go on a trip and write it down...Which is exactly what I do! And then I tick off the items I already sampled.

Being smart and into math makes you a nerd. Being into Star Trek makes you a geek. Doesn't mean you are smart or a nerd.

I have to say, I do love nerdy guys, and I agree with R39 's definition. All the sci-fi, super hero fan geeks out there are just too weird for me.

R38 A lot of people do that when they are buying a lot stuff at once. Like restocking once a month. Nothing nerdy about that. Except these days some use smartphones instead of paper and a pen, I would think.

[quote]But do you drain your pasta, [R36]?

No, I use either a spider, tongs, or a pasta fork.

R41 I wasn't talking about the usual grocery list but about making the list of edible things to buy in supermarkets abroad when you're travelling. And to make a list like that you must first carefully study the local food company industry and find out what some of the most popular products and local brands people there buy are.

I've seen too many episodes of MST3K - some many times - and even went to see one of the live shows (Cinematic Titanic, the one hosted by Joel).

And R6 sounds like a lot of fun.

I take online courses just for fun.

I eat raw cookie dough.

Any bears out there into nerds? I'm a nerd, and I love a big burly bear...

R44 I've seen "The Mads Live" and have a binder full of old ripped DVDs of MTS3K episodes. Deep hurting!

I was the Mayor of my town at 25.

When I was a kid in the 1970's my favorite type of car was not a muscle car like a Trans Am or a sports car like a Corvette. My favorite types of cars were BIG AMERICAN Station wagons. Talk about NERDY and GAY.

I'll join the chorus of supermarket visitors, even though it drives my husband nuts. In the states I love Ralph's or any supermarket in California, Tops and Wegman's in New York state, and I used to love Publix (Georgia and Florida) but that's become problematic since January 6. In Amsterdam, Albert Hijn, and Monoprix in Paris. Tesco's and Sainsbury in London of course.

Rail buff -- I watch YouTube videos of train travel and read The Man in Seat 61 religiously for enjoyment and advice.

I know all performance Oscar winners from the beginning until a few years ago. It's sad that the Oscars are so damn uninteresting in the last 5 years or so, and how preordained most of the winners are. And, the biggest crime, they keep trying to find some magical formula that will make it interesting to a young demographic and they are clueless that no one under 30 really cares. They should do like they did in the 1950s and just sponsor it themselves. There is not earthly reason that show should be 3+ hours long. Cut the music; it sucks, it's boring, and when it's out of context it's completely meaningless.

I'm a librarian.

**In the States, I love. . . **

[quote] Rail buff -- I watch YouTube videos of train travel and read The Man in Seat 61 religiously for enjoyment and advice.

I do too. I read the updates on The Man in Seat 61 monthly although I haven't been to Europe in well over a year.

I can OUT NERD all of these posts.

When I was in high school my friend and I would sometimes sit in the prinicpal's office ( waiting area) and pour overthe old high school year books they had.

My penis. It’s as big as my brain!

r54 I **totally** did that (in the school's library).

But in fairness, it was to find pictures of my history teacher from his younger, hotter past.

[quote] When I was in high school my friend and I would sometimes sit in the prinicpal's office ( waiting area) and pour overthe old high school year books they had.

My friend and I in grade school would read encyclopedia entries for fun. This was obviously pre-internet.

I worked as a statistician for 10 years before I went back to college teaching.

I felt like a TOTAL FAILURE when I was a teenager. I was not into smoking, drinking, taking drugs, drinking beer or going to rock concerts. I LOVED the Beatles which was kind of frustrating in the 1980's since they had broken up and John Lennon had been assassinated already so I did the next best thing ( and EXTREMELY NERDY)- I went to Beatlefests twice a year with my friend. I had NO interest in 1982 in contemporary music or fashion. Don't hate me now for what I'm going to say- I drove a 1978 Pontiac Catalina Safari Station Wagon( I'm the one who posted his LOVE for Station Wagons in the 1970's- so that was my DREAM car) with a bumper sticker that said- AND ON THE EIGHTH DAY GOD CREATED THE BEATLES.

I love medieval history.

And I have played World of Warcraft on a role playing server for years. I even led an Undead Guild.

R59 I’d totally hang out with you.

[quote]I drove a 1978 Pontiac Catalina Safari Station Wagon

Pretty cool, r59. No Vista Cruiser, but not a bad set of wheels.

R8 I really want to play that game just for the ST mod. I used to love 4X games, including the Star Trek themed Birth of the Federation.

For a while, I was really into crossword puzzles. This was during my party years, so, an odd combination of activities. I always had a book and a pen. Yes, IIRC, I did the puzzles in pen.

R62- That is THE car. Mine was that color too.

Oh, and thanks R61.

I'm a personal finances nerd. I keep track of all my spending & put expenses into multiple categories.

R46- Eating raw cookie dough is not GAY or NERDY it's just FOOLISH.

I, too, when traveling, enjoy going to everyday stores. I don't think it's that nerdy, actually. You can learn a lot about the culture and, of course, pick up some good foods, gifts, and souvenirs.

Japan: must visit the convenience ("conbini") stores. Excellent.

In Paris, I was impressed that they actually sell L'Oreal hair products. I always thought it was a bogus "French" brand in the U.S. No, French people actually use L'Oreal.

Also in Paris, I liked the "pharmacy" stores, which have a lot of personal care products.

R67 no more foolish than eating out, really.

I don’t think it’s a big worry that Nestle is using salmonella-infected eggs in their cookie dough.

I love backgammon.

I took a weeklong vacation in a city known for wild partying and spent the entire time visiting sites of historical and cultural interest. I feel like I can party and whore it up at home when I’m on vacation I want to learn new things and and enrich my soul.

I'm also a Gilbert and Sullivan freak. I have CDs of all their operas, and also filmed versions on DVDs. I sing the songs when I'm alone, working on something.

I do oral anal drink piss

collection of TV Guides (mostly the Fall Previews -- I'm not a fanatic!) and comic books. I've pared down my collection in about half, but it's one that I amassed over decades so...I must have close to 5K?

The good/bad news is today, comics suck; I mostly buy facsimiles or collections of old ones.

I keep track of everything on MS Excel spreadsheets

[quote]I don't think nerd and geek are the same thing.

Nerds are math/science, geeks are just fans of something.

I was on Jeopardy

I was a nerd in high school - I never did "cool kid" things like drinking and smoking. I was always puzzled by people who talked about doings things like getting fake IDs to go to clubs. I wouldn't even know where to get a fake ID. Plus, I looked 12 when I was 16.

I'm obsessed with World War 1 flying aces

I was born in 1982 but almost all the music I like is from before 1970. And I love big band music.

R71, me too. I don't get people who fly all around the world just to stay at all-inclusive resorts and go to the beach. WTF, you can party at the beach in America.

I am a major Game of Thrones fan (the television series not the novels, I’ll buy and read the novels when Martin gets off his ass and finishes them).

If legally changing your name were free I would change my last name to Targaryen.

Is it really geeky to watch Game of Thrones? That's a hugely popular show.

R80 I’m still watching it. I’ve watched the entire series 4 times.

I watch 2 to 3 episodes a week.

I listen to the musical score when doing house work.

^^ Uh, yep. That's nerdy and geeky.

I love nerds. The most interesting people you'll ever meet are considered nerds by some. But please seat me next to a nerd at a dinner party and I'll have a much better time than seating me next to someone who people think is cool. Nerds know tons of interesting things that allow me to learn in a social setting. I don't want to sound like an asshole, but a lot of people bore me to tears. Not nerds though.

I've loved maps and globes since I was a kid. I would pore over an atlas memorizing country data and population statistics. Right now as I am preparing to move to a new city, I've been studying Google Maps every day and marking various points of interest.

I was a hardcore music nerd for years as well, but I mostly outgrew it.

I started this thread:

I might have you all beat in this category. I'm a HUGE Star Wars fan, to the point where if you watch the films with me, I can recite the original word for word. I still have my childhood Star Wars toys from the 70's and my lifelong dream was to buy a life sized Han Solo in Carbonite. Now that I'm older and can afford it, I know that I really don't need to spend money on it but would love to have one someday. I watch anything Star Wars related. Am also a Star Trek fan but it's no where near the level of my love of SW.

When I was a kid, I was a huge fan of Barbara Mandrell. I used to wear a silk jacket with her name on it and all kinds of buttons that said, "I'm a Barbara Mandrell Fan." I used to tell people she was my mom.

When I was 12 I hand wrote a book that was over 200 pages and get this, the lead character was a 16 year old police detective who wanted to leave the force to become...a country music star. My book even included a map of the cities I would tour. I still have the book tucked away in my home safe because it's hilariously bad, but it did start my love of writing.

I would rather play video games than watch tv. I can spend HOURS playing them. I own an Xbox and an Occulus and it's by far the most fun I have in my life, especially during Covid. I do tend to be an explorer, so if I play a game like Assassin's Creed Origins or Valhala, I will literally spend hours not doing the main missions and just exploring the world. I find video games both fun and educational and my Occulus is life changing. I spent last night hanging out in a Karaoke room with a bunch of other nerds in Virtual reality and we had a blast.

I was an honors student who loved reading and analyzing books and the drum major of the marching band in high school and a very talented trumpet player.

I'm 51 and a lesbian. Do I win?

I’m a huge fan of retro computers from the 80’s. I grew up at that time and having a game computer made you a cool kid at school.

C64, Atari 800, Amstrad CPC, Amiga, Atari ST, etc. Ask me anything about their history, their development, their technical specifications, their softwares, etc. I know it all!

My last major project was reinventing an SNES game in Swift so that I could run my own customized version of it in MacOS.

I can spend hours stargazing and then spend another hour writing about the stars (or constellations) I observed.

I can’t have a garden so I walk nice neighborhoods silently judging people who plant in the wrong light (morning sun, full sun, afternoon sun, full shade). If I were rich, I could afford trespass fines and counter suits as I gorilla garden strangers’ plots at dawn - during the correct Farmer’s Almanac sign.

“NO EAST-FACING POPPIES, ASS FACE!”

I play the clarinet. I rather live for it, actually. 🤓

I've been playing it professionally since I won my first major audition (for an opera orchestra) at age 17. I never thought it was particularly nerdy, but apparently a lot of other people did, along with my having worn glasses since I was five. I didn't come from money and never had the support of my backward-thinking family as a kid, so I mowed a lot of lawns, etc. to save up and buy my first instruments and paid for lessons through regular lawn/garden work and snow shoveling for my teacher (a sweet lady who was more like a mom to me than my actual mom) during those years. I worked very hard to attain a competitive level and was fortunate to win full scholarships to a couple of good music schools and GTFO of that town for good.

In junior-high back in the mid-'80s, I got mocked a lot for it as a teenager by classmates in my hick town, and actually bullied by one in particular jock who would ambush me sometimes while I was walking home from school one winter; he would snatch my clarinet case from me, throw it into the snow, and bury it. I wished him dead a number of times, and then it happened. He got leukemia and died in less than a year.

Even my abusive, rednecky stepfather couldn't deter me from pursuing it, no matter how many times he called me a faggot and told my mom I'd grow up to be a cocksucker if they didn't take it away from me and make me do football or whatever. I knew that if I stayed focused, music would be my ticket away from him and out of that depressing town.

I had the last laugh in the end. I really enjoy the work (although it carries with it a lot of pressure at times, and I had to also balance it out with other hobbies like photography and fishing so I wouldn't burn out). I've made a great living at it, traveled the world and have lived abroad since my early 20s in some incredible places, have come to know many fantastic people (including my husband) through the arts, and haven't looked back.

[quote] I bet we know each other, [R2]. What is the alternate name of Brainiac 5's homeworld of Colu?

Just saw this post.

Yod.

R14 you sound incredibly hot actually. You will age well if you stay like that.... really well. I used to have a FWB exactly like this - skinny, glasses, very academic/ nerdy. Had the big dick too, but he was such a lovely guy the big dick wasnt even the best part of the package

I'm not particularly nerdy in the maths/science area in any way except i have an interest in behavioural genetics and devour articles on that and related fields. Its not related to my job in any way though. I geek out about cars, particularly old American and Aussie cars, but just about anything interests me, and I can identify just about anything however obscure.

R50 Wagons are awesome, I've always liked them, have had a few. I do like a grunty V8 though - nothing nicer than a wagon with one, its a perfect combination of muscle car power and wagon practicality. A 78 Pontiac Catalina wagon would be a very nice ride, especially with a breathed on 350 V8 or even better a big block, and quite valuable today in good condition. I currently have a Holden wagon with the LS1 V8, but there was an HSV version of the Holden Commodore wagon available with an even bigger V8 (401 I think) which is one of my dream cars

Only other thing I geek out about is.... Country and Western music. I have a huge collection (almost all digital now) but I used to have a massive collection of Country and Western CD's in my 20's-30's which definitely set me apart from other guys my age, especially other gay guys. I dont just listen to country though now, also listen to blues, rock and metal for swimming

I know everything about The Beatles. I’m teaching myself how to make miniature haunted houses. I get lost in historical mysteries, like Dyatlov and Lizzie Borden. I was in band* for seven years.

*Hall of Fame Nerd credential

Reading the comments is like taking a nice, warm bath. I’ve found my people!

R90 that sounds like a good slogan for a T-shirt or a bumper sticker!

I’m middle-aged and love playing video games still!

R86 i’m thinking about getting the oculus. Is it worth it? I would like to be able to work out with it. Someone said the boxing is pretty cool.

Are we getting nerds and geeks confused?

Because a lot of what I'm reading here sounds more like geek shit. A co-worker informed me that I'm a geek, which shocked me because I never imagined it even tho I read comic books and I'm a gamer. I've been told that I'm "Hip" and have style most of my life (dreads, afro, tattoos, really into music, etc) and it just honestly never occurred to me.

I see geeks as people who participate in social norms BUT are also comfortable with subgroup behaviors. Nerds are just socially impaired--probably autistic, studios, Role playing etc.

^^studios^^

Random stats about the world fascinate me.

Gino coefficients and average daily ridership figures for transit systems are almost as hot as being a gangbang bottom.

r97, the Occulus is life changing and I'm not exaggerating. I've never experienced anything like it and not just for games, but because there is SO much you can do in VR. Saturday night, I spent in a Drunken Karaoke room with 11 strangers from around the world. Everyone had a blast and it's just so weird to look around and see these floating bodies and know that those are REAL people all singing together (badly, but who cares?). The other night, I played miniature golf with a friend who lives in another state and afterwards, I felt like I had really been out having fun even though I'm in a tiny house. I can also go into a VR movie theater and watch movies or watch rocket launches with others when they happen. I can go into this amazing APP called Tripp where I can meditate or go into these awesome and beautiful VR environments where I can just sit and relax while floating along a stream. Or I can battle Darth Vader or go into a lightsaber dojo where waves of storm troopers, training droids and other droids come out to shoot at me. I can force choke a stormtropper, throw him against the wall and while he's dying, grab his blaster with the force mid air and shoot at the other troopers while throwing my lightsaber with the others.

There have been times when it seems so real, I actually forget it isn't. It is amazing.

I read Wikipedia for fun, especially about different countries around the world. The capital of Kazakhstan, Nur-Sultan, has trippy architecture.

R2/r92, if we don't already know each other, we should!

I worked in the video game industry, as a 3D artist for 20 year!

I am a life long skier but am fascinated by ski lifts, like folks who are into aviation or trains. The Peak-2-Peak gondola at Whistler is an engineering marvel.

R83, right there with you.

I can pretty much spell any word in the English dictionary. Asperger’s.

As a teenager I was completely consumed by poetry (yes, I was dateless), and I used to spend my lunch hours and evenings reading everything I could find in the library or online whether ancient or contemporary. I collected dusty old poetry books I found in thrift stores and antiquarian establishments. I even got into writing and performing for a couple of years, but found that it took a lot out of me so I stopped. After a few moves and a depressive breakdown, I sold or gave away most of my books too.

One of my hobbies now is obsessively making themed playlists on Spotify; I have a hundred at the last count. I also collect, distribute and enjoy bootlegged concert recordings, especially by Prince. I am most fascinated by slight lyrical changes in live performances, and try to index them (guess it’s related to my old interest in poetry).

I also know the names and backstories of all the Pagan divinities of the British Isles. I’m still working on the legendary heroes. That drive and curiosity is more to do with my Pagan beliefs than my leisure interests, though.

As we type, I can feel myself slipping into a fixation with perfume and fragrance, but I’m trying to resist as I don’t have the money or the time to dive into that right now. I love contributing to the fragrance threads on DL.

So as you can tell, I’m a geek, not a nerd, unfortunately. My grades were always middling-average, and I’m terrible at anything to do with mathematics, science or computing. Can’t stand videogames, either, except perhaps those old 00s empire games on PC like PHAROAH. Wish I was more like the STEM genii here, or even money-savvy like R66. I think it hurts my confidence that my skills in these areas are so poor.

Thank you for the detailed reply R101. You have the Quest 2? I’m concerned about wearing eyeglasses with the oculus. Also, do those apps cost money? Thanks.

r108, I have the Occulus 2. It comes with a spacer that you can put in to accommodate your glasses or you can order custom lenses with your prescription.

Some of the APPs cost money, but they are cheap. The miniature golf game was $15. The Big Screen App which is what I used to go into Karaoke rooms is free. The Tripp APP is free to download, but if you want to do the awesome stuff on it, you have to subscribe. I have a lifetime subscription for $19. Worth every penny. The Vader games are around $10. The most expensive game I've seen on the Occulus is Beat Saber at $30.

Oh yeah, I can get oddly obsessed with traffic patterns and behaviors.

How so R110?

Thanks for the info R109. Maybe I should get one!