What in modern Western society hasn't lit trust and good will on fire for money and power in the past 20yr? The tech industry is essentially performing at baseline.
Still disappointing. There was a time when we aspired to be better than baseline.
What the fuck happened to nerds
71–80 of 118 posts
Re: What the fuck happened to nerds
#7220 years in and my coworkers are about the same. What's changed is the public perception. Arguably because of the media https://x.com/i/status/1588231892792328192
You don't think tech leaders have changed at all, in any way?
Many of the most prominent American tech leaders these days are of Indian origin. The social stigma to tech is not present in Indian culture, which stems from India having been under British colonial rule and the accompanying de-industrialisation of India.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De-industrialisation_of_India
Re: What the fuck happened to nerds
#73In my lifetime I have seen the tech ethos shift slowly, then quickly, from “don’t be evil” to “don’t be a pussy.” It took me utterly by surprise when, after finishing my PhD, I decided it would be less damaging to my soul to go into finance. Even more surprising, I think I was right.
I guarantee you they’re all pussies though.
Indeed. The most self-important butthurt dweeb I knew in college is now a self-important butthurt founder-influencer with a massive following on X of the sort of unkempt right-winger engineers who are driven by high school revenge fantasies. Good for him, I suppose, as unhappy as he still seems to be.
Re: What the fuck happened to nerds
#74Earlier quoted context omitted.
Where the self-identifier of "nerd" as "I don't care that I don't know how to make people like me" is given precedence over "I care more about esoteric knowledge than about how to make people like me"
> Where the self-identifier of "nerd" as "I don't care that I don't know how to make people like me" is given precedence over "I care more about esoteric knowledge than about how to make people like me" I no longer really give a rat's ass whether people like me anymore, because a lifetime of being bullied over nothing more than my choice of hobby/career has taught me that I'm just gonna be widely hated for simply enj…
Bro, welcome to the human condition. This is literally everyone. Not just you. You can however choose to be a geek, a quirky person, or a nerd, unproductive and not showering because you don't care if you offend others (and then being angry when others treat you like someone who doesn't shower). It's hard and hurts, I get that. Relationships are hard. Not assuming everyone hates you is hard. Not assuming one throwaway comment/joke someone makes defines how they see you is hard. But embracing the nerd won't help. Be a geek who solves problems. I knew high school was going to suck for me. I played DND. I listened to metal. So I joined the football team. I switched from nerd to geek.
You are lucky you got to experience so many people championing you, most people have way less or none. Please try to stop going to court in your head over how the world has offended you. As a grey beard, I lived there and ruined my life over it. Shockingly "I XYZ because 123" is not actually a productive/great life ethos or way to live life.
Hope that wasn't too harsh. I'm sorry you are hurting. I can hear the hurt in your comment. I can relate so hard to it. I am sorry you are hurting. Wish I could offer a hug.
Re: What the fuck happened to nerds
#75Earlier quoted context omitted.
Where the self-identifier of "nerd" as "I don't care that I don't know how to make people like me" is given precedence over "I care more about esoteric knowledge than about how to make people like me"
> Where the self-identifier of "nerd" as "I don't care that I don't know how to make people like me" is given precedence over "I care more about esoteric knowledge than about how to make people like me" I no longer really give a rat's ass whether people like me anymore, because a lifetime of being bullied over nothing more than my choice of hobby/career has taught me that I'm just gonna be widely hated for simply enj…
You must live in the Americas. I live here in MidWest USA and there's an anti-intellectual culture, unless you're somewhere on the coasts, or pacific northwest. Hate to generalize but that has been my experience
Re: What the fuck happened to nerds
#76Re: What the fuck happened to nerds
#77>Charming nerd to terrifying overlord If there was this shift, it was always superficial. To a certain degree, nerds were always 'terrifying overlords'. It’s just that once they accumulated enough power, there was no longer any point in maintaining that façade
Oh ffs. How does one draw a line from Dennis Richie, Ken Thompson, Steve Wozniak, Bill Joy, even Linus Torvalds to 'terrifying overlord'? The fact is that those people who were closet 'terrifying overlords' weren't actually nerds to begin with, because they lacked the essential quality of humility.
Re: What the fuck happened to nerds
#78Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yep, even just in the first movie: as soon as the chief nerd has a chance, he assaults one of the jock's girlfriends.
All those nerds were sex offenders. https://www.illinoislawyers.com/blog/so-many-crimes-in-reven...
The movie has definitely not aged well but was a "family favorite" growing up in the 90s...
Re: What the fuck happened to nerds
#79My theory: When smart people are bullied, they sometimes turn into tyrants once they gain power.
Re: What the fuck happened to nerds
#80The nerds you are looking for are still here. We just got pushed out of the leadership of the tech industry by evil people who are not nerds. The reason you can’t see us anymore is because you don’t know how to look. Money and the major social platforms will never direct your eyes towards us. You must look at the independent spaces that are hiding in plain sight.
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