January 7, 201114 yr If friends and family give us a hard time about being nerds in a playful way, that doesn't bother me. However, if it was said with malicious intent, that would tick me off. I think criticism stems from a bit of jealousy. Normally the people who feel the need to crack on someone else have nothing better in their own life to occupy their brain. My husband always told our kids to "Be nice to the nerds at school because someday they will sign your paycheck!" I always thought that was cute.
January 7, 201114 yr Clearly you never been to a Lego convention. ;) -Omi Hahahaha ohhhhh I need to find me one of these To minimize any trauma inflicted by the mainstream on us "LEGO geeks" though, we should foster: hygiene social skills confidence & pride Amen.
January 7, 201114 yr If friends and family give us a hard time about being nerds in a playful way, that doesn't bother me. However, if it was said with malicious intent, that would tick me off. I think criticism stems from a bit of jealousy. Normally the people who feel the need to crack on someone else have nothing better in their own life to occupy their brain. That's pretty much what Pinky always says - it's often those who are least happy, who are most negative about others...
January 7, 201114 yr I wouldn't say so. It is just like any other hobby. Building Legos is very calming for me. True, Legos are toys, and I do feel awkward when I go to a TRU or other stores specifically looking for Legos; but, it is just like any other hobby (albeit expensive one) . A hobby that encompasses much more than the "toy" factor. Search around these forums for only minutes, and you'll find amazing MOCs people have created. Historically MOCs, funny MOCs, and very creative MOCs that are a representation of their creator. Moreover, this hobby is very nostalgic for many.
January 7, 201114 yr Definately not. And I don't think you'd find any creative person who thinks so, either. My entire family (me 40, my wife 37, son 16, son 11 and daughter 8) all build, and many of us play to some extent. My wife recently finished the Tower Bridge to go with her other landmarks, my daughter is building the Hogwarts Express, the teenager is trying to add power functions to one of his technic buggies and we've all been playing Ninjago like mad. Our entire loft is taken over by a 14x4 Lego city which is pretty much dad's domain, the younger son imprisons the Hero Factory villains in between the DVDs on the shelf. Eveyone of their friends are contantly wanting to come up stairs to see what's new, and all their parents and our adult friends are fascinated by it. We're also professionals or good students and athletes. I'm also a part time musician and Harley Davidson rider. No one I know calls us nerdy, but if they did, so what. As Dr. Seuss says 'those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind." Edited January 7, 201114 yr by TWTaylor
January 7, 201114 yr Lego might not make me nerdy but my other hobbies do, so its all sort of relative. I'm a nerd and proud of it.
January 7, 201114 yr To paraphrase Sienfeld " I got fed up with what other people think so I just made my own people" I don't really mind what people think. Not much choice after being frontpaged in the local paper Most friends have been very supportive, even my beer swilling cricket mates, so yes I am a nerd and it doesn't bother me.
January 8, 201114 yr Author I don't really mind what people think. Not much choice after being frontpaged in the local paper Most friends have been very supportive, even my beer swilling cricket mates, so yes I am a nerd and it doesn't bother me. Wow, someone famous! AUTOGRAPH PLEASE!! I have to say, it's interesting to see peoples views. I guess most of us have come to terms with the fact we are slightly nerdy. Bah, I don't mind anymore. I don't talk to those people anymore so whatever.
January 8, 201114 yr This is an issue that I always struggle with. I don't really know if I would be considered a nerd or not. I definately do some "nerdy" things. I do fairly well at school, I enjoy science (except for biology), and I build robots. However, English is my favorite subject in school, I like photography, I am learning how to make movies, I write fiction, and I make rap beats. How many nerds do you know that make rap beats? The point is, most people don't fit snuggly in a stereotype. Lego building can't clearly be defined as "nerdy" or not. However, it is pretty unusual for a grown man to be buying what is considered a children's toy. The main basis of the "nerd" stereotype is being weird, so adults into Lego should expect to be called "nerdy" by people who don't fully understand the art of Lego. Most of the people I talk to actually miss Lego after they understand what I do. Lego is simply a tool for the imagination. If imagination is "nerdy" than I am proud to be a "nerd". Calling people "nerds" is actually discouraging people from being smart, responsible, innovative, and hard-working, which is definitely a bad thing. I think stereotypes in general are a bad thing. Lego is simply what you make it out to be, no matter what anyone else tells you. And just to clear things up, here is my opinion on the whole "geeks v.s. nerds" debate. The same goes for "dork". The deeper meaning of all three of those terms is "weird", so there isn't much of a difference between them.
January 9, 201114 yr I don't worry about how 'nerdy' it is, but I do get a bit self-conscious that I'm a six foot three guy with a beard and long hair and often wearing lots of black, and I tend to loiter around children's toys a lot.
January 9, 201114 yr Well I think you have to give up the notion that you have to classify what you are based on a hobby. Are there "nerdy" Lego fans, yes, are there bada$$, sweet-talking, womanizing and mustang-driving AFOL's out there? You bet! It was said before that video games were considered nerdy but now the vast majority of people play them, with consoles taking the computer out of the equation (or so they believe )and so now it's the cool thing to do. The whole problem is that "nerdy and cool" kind of fly out the window after high school, and as soon as you are making your own money and working you can spend cash and time on whatever the heck makes you feel good. And if your buds are talking you down for it, I'm afraid to say that if you have 5 friends they each have a fifth of a personality, so find people with genuine intellect and character, it'll pay off in the long run.
January 9, 201114 yr Knowing who number 81 is on the Rams is not common knowledge. It's nerdy. Don't take the offensive comments seriously. You will be accused of nerdiness if you are passionate about something.
January 9, 201114 yr I dont think Lego is any more nerdy than games consoles or online mmo games... Definitley agree, but the latter is a much more common hobby than being a TFOL or AFOL. I reckon if LEGO was as common as the game console (in the generations that call others nerdy) and the time people spend on gaming was spent on LEGO, it would be a much more accepted thing to do in free time. Not that I have any problems. There's the occasional douche who says something but everyone else sticks up for me, especially after my animation involving my classmates I showed to the class. I don't go announcing it to every person I meet either, I wait until I can trust them or get along with them before I introduce it, just to be sure.
January 10, 201114 yr Is it nerdy ? yes a little bit, but I'm used to it, I'm a FFol. I love many nerdy things, pc games, colleting stamps, art painting and making Lego creations. I'm a grandma, I'm 60, so now I can do what ever I like and I do :D I don't bake cakes, but my 7 grandchildren think that building Lego is much more fun and cool anyway.
January 10, 201114 yr I don't know about you, but I am most definatly a full blown LEGO (and other things) nerd right down to the fat glasses, freckles, and video game character fancying.... Maybe I should not have said that...
January 10, 201114 yr Probably it is, and I think most everyone here is comfortable with it. On a positive note, at work, I'm the guy that everyone asks which set to get their kids for holidays and b-days. ...and I'm in line to buy a lot of the sets when the kids are done with them.
January 10, 201114 yr After fourth grade I was considered a nerd for liking LEGO. In fifth grade I started a LEGO club in my school library, but then someone started a rumor that we held it in the bathroom. And that was elementary school. So, from my standpoint, no, but from everybody else's, yeah. LEGO is nerdy.
January 11, 201114 yr I believe so. My kids call me a nerd. Is that a bad thing?? PS, I don't like the negative connotation of "nerdy" it sounds like a handicap or something.. Edited January 11, 201114 yr by Sirens-Of-Titan
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