Some people give me the sympathy face when I tell them that I’m kind of a nerd. You know the look; lips pinched, eyebrows knitted together in feigned concern.

“But Anna,” they say in their sugary-sweet voices, “why would you want to be called that? It’s so…ick.”

I know what they’re thinking and why they might want to rescue me from such a label. They imagine poor hygiene, extra large craniums, a Japanese comic in one hand and a collection of Star Wars action figures in the other. It is difficult, however, to convince said people that being a nerd is not necessarily a bad thing; in fact, I consider it a state of mind that deserves to be embraced.

In Mike Judge’s film, Idiocracy, the world’s gene pool has become so clogged by moronic genetic material that people with normal brain function are considered freaks. Those with what would presently be considered a higher level of intelligence are extinct. While the movie is hilarious, I can’t help but think that there is some level of truth lingering beneath its comedic surface. Though it’s true that nerds are not as harshly condemned as they once were, they still are not considered breeders. If they are, it is usually by others in the same situation, or extremely attractive people with nerd fetishes, but we’ll cover those people at a later time.

So what does it mean to be a nerd? We throw this word around to describe almost anyone who differs from the normal American sports-and-fashion-worshipping gender division. Many feel that the ostracism begins in high school, and I tend to agree. Teenagers recognize their differences and employ them as means of determining their best matches in order to make friends. This is known as the Lunch-Table Phenomenon.

A person who is relegated to a certain lunch table with their fellow nerds can be defined as one whose IQ outweighs their body mass. In the event of a nerd of considerable size, a more apt description is one who devotes their lives to the accumulation of knowledge, sometimes entirely in one subject area. The first example that comes to mind is computers, but this can also apply to anything from board games to film to the endless pursuit of historical artifacts. That’s right fanboys; Indiana Jones was a nerd.

It is because of this thirst for knowledge that nerds sometimes acquire a bad rap. Most simply neglect, or are deficient in, the social skills necessary to mingle with those whose focus has taken on a different direction. However, a movement has formed to enlighten the culture about the essential contributions of nerds. Hell, you wouldn’t even been reading this blog right now if it weren’t for the development of the Internet by, you guessed it, a rampant nerd.

Chances are, since you’re reading a blog in the first place, you are probably a nerd yourself. Don’t fight it. I am not ashamed to admit my nerdliness, even to those giving me the anti-nerd sympathy face; I’m not in high school any more. I don’t need to be cool.