Friday, April 22, 2011

Nerds are Hot

That's probably not a normal title you would expect from a post by me--or you would expect it to be about something that has nothing to do with the title. But the hotness of the nerd population of America is exactly what we're going to talk about. And yes, I felt this was important enough to post on a Friday instead of waiting until after our Evolution vs. Creationism discussion.

Mainly, that's because I went to JordanCon this past weekend, which is what made me think of this topic and I wanted to talk about it before I forgot.

There seems to be this stereotype in the world that nerds fall into one of two categories when it comes to looks: 1) skinny, glasses, pimply, messy hair, socially awkward, works for a major CS firm like Google, Apple, or Microsoft or 2) overweight, bearded, socially awkward, still lives in Mom's basement. And even though I am a nerd (a female one so slightly outside of the stereotypes), I sometimes get the mistaken notion into my head that my male counterparts fall into these categories. And this past weekend, this stereotypical notion crept back into my head as I went to JordanCon, the Wheel of Time convention.

A Wheel of Time convention? I know. I'm a nerd. Did you forget my exploits at Dragon*Con and that one of the highs was that I bought a Great Serpent Ring? I am a nerd. I have no shame. And being a nerd is nothing to be ashamed of.

Anyway, I don't know why these stereotypes would pop in my head for JordanCon. You would think of all the areas of nerdom this would be the one where I wouldn't have the stereotypes. After all, all of my guy friends who read Wheel of Time are hot. (Yeah, yeah, stop blushing you guys who I know who read WoT. You're hot. Now get over it).

So I went to this con, expecting the awkward guys and instead met guys of all types: suave, charming, well dressed (err..costumed?), and just all around nice. (One stereotype that I love that is usually true. Nerd guys are nice). Seriously, if I hadn't been there with my mom AND if I was looking for a boyfriend right now, I would have been seriously putting my charm on (if I have any. Not a master of flirtation here, but I do love talking Wheel of Time, which in this setting might have sufficed).

I guess the moral of this post is we should all try to get past the Breakfast Club view of the nerd and embrace the Chuck Bartowski view. Chuck is awesome, nerdy, nice, and hot. And this should be the new stereotype because its often true. Or at least make it the third stereotype. The other two types of nerds do exist, but I would say the hot ones are in equal if not greater proportion.

Oh, and just in case I have a future husband* who is reading this blog post. I love Mat Cauthon. Yes, we've established this. So, if you're trying to meet me/impress me at a Con, please dress up as him. There were at least two Mat Cauthons at JordanCon and both had excellent costumes and I loved it. But please don't be Mat Cauthon in real life, because I'm pretty sure in real life our personalities would clash. So you can dress like Mat Cauthon but act like Chuck Bartowski. :)

*I want to get married one day, but I'm not 100% convinced its in God's plan for me, so its always "if I get married" never "when".

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