I’ve been nerdy for forever – Star Wars, Weird Al, Monty Python, Tolkien, comic books, you name it. One of the surprises of recent decades is this “triumph of the nerds” with the ascendancy of Marvel movies, Star Wars, and computers in our popular culture. The nerds won.
Nerd culture is fun because it goes deep on its obsessions. If you like Star Wars then you bought the Jedi Masters Quizbook and tested your nerd friends (I still have my childhood copy on the shelf). If you watched Babylon 5 then you have your favorite episode and character. You quibble over the faults of the many incarnations of Star Trek. You have strong opinions on Apple products. You want to collect all the editions of The Wheel of Time or the Pandemic board games (most nerds are collectors, I’ve noticed). If you like sports (nerds can opt out here), it’s something with lots of stats, like baseball or football.
Nerd culture, in my experience, tends to be fairly accepting. If you like nerd stuff then you are a nerd and in the club. If you’re overweight, balding, non-binary, or have a disability it’s okay, just like Star Trek and you’re good. This is a generalization, and sadly not true in all times and all places.
One of the newer areas of nerd culture is board gaming, because the field has blossomed in recent decades. And I’m full in these days. So here’s one of my kids and I talking about board games with a bunch of nerds at the 7:00 mark. Excelsior!