Nerd.

It seems like everyone today is using that word to describe themselves. If you are passionate about [blank], then you are a [blank] nerd. Science fiction and superheroes dominate at the box office. Nigh everyone in my generation knows their way around a computer. Everyone and their grandmother plays video games.

And certain people are very pissed off about this.

Patton Oswalt, John Cheese, and many others are bemoaning the mainstreamifying (Is that a word? I say it is.) of nerd culture. They say it’s too easy to be a nerd these days, and people who call themselves nerds now were the ones who picked on nerds in school.

I don’t quite understand the hostility.

Ever since I can remember, I have loved Star Trek. Starting with the Original Series when I was ~5, I was enamoured with the idea of space exploration, technological innovation, and going where no one has gone before. One thing that I loved was the idealism of the Federation – a peace-loving, self-sufficient, infinitely abundant society, enriched by science and technology.

When I was beat up on the playground, I’d envision the world of the future, as depicted by Star Trek. This was a world where those with intelligence and creativity were held in high regard, and everyone, regardless of their background, would strive for that level of intelligence and creativity, rather than stagnate at their current level, pushing others around to hide their own insecurities.

This was the world I wanted to live in. I hoped that, maybe, hopefully, possibly, I’d live long enough to see it.

And I did.

I’d like to think it was technology that brought us to this point. The world runs on computers now, and everyone has access to them. As you read this, your smartphone is either in your pocket, by your side, or even what you’re reading this on.

To be as technologically proficient as we are, we had to learn, adapt, change – we had to become nerds.

That is entirely why nerd culture has taken over. Maybe it’s just a passing fad, but I would doubt it. Thanks to the internet, we can meet with others who share our loves, nay, obsessions. Countless wikis hold insane amounts of information about anything you could want to know about.

Even non-nerdy things have been nerdified (I’m making this a word as well). Football fans can scrutinize every statistic in order to create the best fantasy football team ever. Car enthusiasts can find entire forums dedicated to their particular make and model of vehicle. Brewers and beer drinkers share recipes and reviews of their favorite brews. I know this all too well, because I participate in all three of these pastimes, in addition to my normal nerdy proclivities.

Conversely, “real” nerds have found themselves enjoying things they wouldn’t have. The cultural idea of a nerd is dead, and for good reason – it was an offensive stereotype of someone book smart but not street smart, socially inept, and generally just annoying. This stereotype was perpetuated by those who felt intimidated by nerds, and yet now we have a small group of elitists claiming that they are proud of that stereotype, and that no one else has the right to call themself a nerd.

I cannot stand for backwards progress. As the old adage goes, if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em, and that’s exactly what happened here. The nerds of yesteryear make big money, create incredible things, and have been able to push what they love into the mainstream. Rather than hold on to resentment for the kid who stole my comics and ripped them up, I take pride in the fact that he’s as excited about the new Avengers movie as I am.

We won.