Still Evolving, Apparently

I've been reading the surprisingly absorbing Cryptonomicon, and the other night I came across this paragraph, which hit me like a sledgehammer:

Chester nods all the way through this, but does not rudely interrupt Randy as a younger nerd would. Your younger nerd takes offense quickly when someone near him begins to utter declarative sentences, because he reads into it an assertion that he, the nerd, does not already know the information being imparted. But your older nerd has more self-confidence, and besides, understands that frequently people need to think out loud. And highly advanced nerds will furthermore understand that uttering declarative sentences whose contents are already known to all present is part of the social process of making conversation and therefore should not be construed as aggression under any circumstances.

Why did this hit me like a sledgehammer? Because I recognized myself. I take offense for exactly this reason way on more occasions than I should. So while I am an older nerd, certainly, it appears that I am not yet a highly advanced nerd. The good news here is that when I related this self-discovery to Al, he found it utterly hilarious... and now we can sidestep possible arguments by alluding to this nerd phenomenon, usually by pointing out that "what we're doing here? It's called 'conversation'."

Posted by Lori in me, me, me at 5:59 PM on March 19, 2007

Comments (2)

ratphooey [TypeKey Profile Page]:

Just when I was certain I was not, in fact, a nerd...

i am so WITH you! i am definitely not a highly advanced nerd, if remembering this simple thing is a requirement. maybe it comes from working with some genuinely aggressive boy-nerds?

Comments

Just when I was certain I was not, in fact, a nerd...

Posted by: ratphooey [TypeKey Profile Page] at March 19, 2007 6:33 PM

i am so WITH you! i am definitely not a highly advanced nerd, if remembering this simple thing is a requirement. maybe it comes from working with some genuinely aggressive boy-nerds?

Posted by: Jeanne at March 28, 2007 2:29 PM

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