Back in 2013, I did algebra just for fun while watching online video lectures on it. This was before I was enrolled in a university. Now I'm studying to be an electrical engineer.
I've been a professional thug, musician, gamer, game developer, and crochet artist.
Everything I have done in my entire life is the nerdiest thing I have done.
I mean, I AM a nerd...
Absolutely nothing… from my perspective 😂
However, if you could ask my parents, they would probably mention the time when I was in my late teens and I disassembled the family room TV set (back when they were analog cathode ray tubes) and recalibrated the sharpness of the screen to get rid of a halo effect that was annoying me.
Or the radio controlled, self navigating robot I built in college (I steer it around the room or into another room with a wireless Atari joystick then it could automatically backtrack to me by itself). That isn’t really all that impressive today but this was back in the 1980s before the days of Raspberry Pi micro controllers. I had to do this with a home made circuit board from and discrete components I bought at Radio Shack.
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I'm an obsessive gamer and I always used to attend all the comic cons when I could afford them. That's kinda nerdy I guess.
Also:
I think I was around 15 when I requested a 18 ft Doctor Who scarf. I got it as a present. I would wear it to conventions back then.
@jplemmon 🤣🤣🤣
@DaveTheBrit - Same here minus the comic con part. I never been to one yet. I put together an awesome gaming rig during the COVID pandemic because I wasn't getting any hugs so I need something to keep my sanity.
The nerdiest thing I’ve ever done is earn a Ph.D. in Castilian and Aragonese medieval literature. 🤓
How are we supposed to pick just one thing? Nerds usually have more than one area of nerding out.
@cuddlefaery - I played a game called Tele-arena which was very similar to a MUD which was played on BBS's (Bulletin Board Systems) in the mid '90s. It was fun until the game was abandoned by its creator. He stopped releasing updates.
@Mike403 yeah, sadly most of the telnet and other text-based games got killed by Guild Wars and Second Life around 2006/7. Gawd, I remember when we thought those graphics were so great 😂
@cuddlefaery - Back during the BBS era, we dialed into local computers and everything was local and not over the internet. Almost everyone we talked to (unless they were calling long distance) was local which made it easy to plan in-person get togethers with people we met online.
@Mike403 I didn't have a computer at home til 2001 I think, but I remember LAN parties 😁
@cuddlefaery - I got my first computer in the mid '80s for Christmas from my dad. (Santa Claus). It was an IBM XT.
I made a monopoly board game out of the book “Catcher in the Rye.” Going to school was the Go to Jail card.
Took a bunch of math courses in college to satisfy my electives…not realizing I took enough to minor in it.
Didn’t attend my graduation because I felt it was overrated at the time. Found out I’d won an award when my friends said they were cheering. I didn’t know I was getting an award.
Got a voltmeter and some diodes to measure the voltage of my fruits.
Got some copper wire and neodymium magnets to make a self-propelled train.
Tried to make a 500-Watt power station out of an old fan motor and some self made coils/magnets.
My ex broke off the charging port of his Bluetooth speaker and was going to throw it out. I took it, opened it up, swapped the port on the board for another one from an old charging block I had, and got it working again. He called me a nerd for that but he was happy lol.
@PrettyLuv - It's a compliment. Nerds are intelligent enough to figure out complex problems opening up more career opportunities. Be proud of your nerdiness.
@Mike403 if I felt like a nerd I’d take it as a compliment and maybe even be proud too but, I don’t feel that way. I do some nerdy things sometimes yea, but Ive known real nerds before, crazy smart. So much more to discover
@PrettyLuv - True nerds never stop learning. You don't need to already be smart and excel at things to be a nerd. As long as you really enjoy learning.
@Mike403 very true
Hmmm... will be glad to list some "nerdy" things that I have done
1) Played Runescape 2) Beat the whole game of phantasy star 4 sega genesis on an emulator 3) Completed almost all the series of Ace attorney series including the spin offs. 3) Played pokemon cards 4) Watched a lot of animes and even watched parodies/abridged 5) Reading books about business, laws, patents, trademarks, etc. 6) Museums hopping and learning and delving deep into historical facts about the places that I take photoshoots in 7) Learning about aviation (regarding the plane models, documentaries, history, taking photos, researching etc.) 8) Binge watching documentaries
I have more, but can't think of any in mind right now while working.
I'm an avid rock collecting nerd.
This is a fun topic! Thanks, OP!
Because I'm not exactly sure how to distinguish between "nerdy" and "unusual," I once created a plaster drop-tine dragon skull (for a Dragon Slayer costume)! I loved it, but it got broke, so I couldn't build a display shelf for it---WHICH IS WHAT I FULLY INTENDED TO DO WITH IT! lol
And... um... I like to watch Dr. Pimple Popper videos, on youtube, where she restores skin health and confidence to her patients by removing various anomalous structures! Probably should stop, though-- I don't really want my face to freeze into the CONSTANT GRIMACE I wear for the duration of my binge-fest! lol
Full on Cosplay D&D. It was epic and I loved every second of it.
@cuddlefaery , I believe you may have beat me for biggest nerd. We’ll done!
I met Alyssa Milano. I froze and couldn’t speak. She must think I am a weirdo. I literally started sweating and ran away.
I've been going to science fiction conventions my entire life. And started playing D&D back in high school, and have played at least a dozen different systems.
@JL_Borges that's ok, you can revoke my nerd card for only having played D&D once 😂 I just couldn't get into it. I'm the shame of most my friend groups lol
The true nerds should instantly recognize this: I've done her a few times now 😁 this was the first time back in 2012 I think? You can't see them, but I even had the patches 🧸🌼❤️
Comic-Con I’m a panda costume
When I was at work a few days ago, a coworker brought me a Baby Yoda for me. I question him if he's trying to say "Yoda one for me" ...he laughed because he's gay lol