Preface: This scale is meant as a jumping-off point for discussion. Please feel free to critique or make your own list. It is my hope that, one day, there will be a definitive list achieved through collaboration.
“Nerdy” is a term bandied about, willie nillie, affixed to many things. My intent is to establish a definitive list of nerdiness.
Is Spaceballs as nerdy as Firefly? Is Spaceballs as nerdy as Star Wars? No, it is not. So, we will take Spaceballs to be our baseline. All items will be measured in Spaceballs (SB).
The main facet of our measurement is level of divorcedness from Reality. For example:
aliens > (Cylons > androids >) robots > spaceships
So Star Trek is nerdier than Battlestar Galactica which is nerdier than Firefly
0 SB: Sports
0.01 SB: "Hans Solo? Isn't he that guy from Star Track?" THIS CAUSES NERDS TO DIE.
0.1 SB: Harry Potter
1 SB: Spaceballs
1.1 SB: Ghostbusters
2 SB: Jeopardy.
2.5 SB: Twilight Zone
3 SB: Star Wars
3.5 SB: Futurama.
4 SB: Firefly
4.5 SB: Star Trek VOY,
5 SB: Sar Trek TOS,
6 SB: Battlestar Galactica
7 SB: Star Trek TNG/DS9
8 < SB: Anime
This, sadly, is where my expertise in nerddom ends. I wanted the list to go to ten, but alas, I am uninspired and unknowledgeable past here. FAIL.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
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And you used your nerdy time machine to put this post in the past?
ReplyDeleteHeh I very much like the concept of a standard unit of measurement but I disagree with basically everything about the scale you've developed
ReplyDeleteSam, keep in mind: I was four beers and a glass of scotch in when I wrote this list. It is a point for discussion, not an endpoint. Suggest a change!
ReplyDeleteThis is making me feel nerdier than I am. TZ and Futurama are nerdy??? This is news to me! Also, I would contend that Ghostbusters isn't nerdy at all.
ReplyDeleteWhoops. That was me, Julie.
ReplyDeleteHere's my question... is MythBusters < or > than Spaceballs?
ReplyDelete@Brianne -- I'd put Mythbusters at, like, .8 SB
ReplyDeletei'll get you a comprehensive list soon, right now I'm like | | from passing out, I haven't slept in quit ea long time
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of a standard unit of measure, though I'm not sure I agree with Spaceballs as the jumping off point. We need to work on this thing a bit. Rebuttal post is in the works as we speak.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to suggest that "nerdy" is boolean and can only be evaluated at True or False and any attempts to place real number values will result in an infinite loop.
ReplyDeleteI suggest a quick study of Turing and Fermat's Last Theorem.