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How to know if you’re a Nerd

November 16th, 2003 · 2 Comments

From Troy and Gay , I found this Nerd Purity Test :

You answered “yes” to 17 of 100 questions, making you 83.0% nerd pure (17.0% nerd corrupt); that is, you are 83.0% pure in the nerd domain (you have 17.0% nerd in you).
Your Weirdness Factor (AKA Uniqueness Factor) is 26%, based on a comparison of your test results with 378675 other submissions for this test.

The average purity for this test is 73.7%.

Ooh, I’m less than average for Nerd Purity! And here I thought I was 41% Geek

I think Ted should take this test – but he’s probably way too busy in Las Vegas at ApacheCon

And I think that a better way to know whether you are a nerd or not (that test was far too based on computers – hey, aren’t there biochem nerds?!) is…
.

… how sentimental you feel about a picture of a computer science building…

The other day in the mail Ted got a postcard announcing the 25th Anniversary Celebration of the Department of Computer Science at Brown. He thought we should toss it out but I wanted to keep it. There was something about the picture of the CIT, as we called the Thomas J. Watson Center for Information Technology, that made me feel sentimental. I began to feel sentimental for a library carrel, of all things.

Ted and I dated for all but the first two semesters of my time at college. During those years, Ted was a grad student inhabiting an office in the CIT, and I, biochem undergrad, spent much time studying in the Sciences Library (SciLi) next door. There were certain carrels on one side of the library building that overlooked the computer science building, almost the exact view as presented on the postcard. Sometimes I’d try to get a carrel with a view of the CIT, so as I studied, I could look out from time to time and think of Ted. The CIT has a part in the history of our relationship: on our first date Ted took me on a tour of the building, as I had never been to his office or any of the upper floors (note: there’s now a fourth floor atrium web cam – I’m relieved to see that there is no one there at 2 am on a Saturday night..or at 7pm on a Sunday night…hmmm!). Maybe that’s another nerd test – what did you do on your first date?!

Ted likes to joke that he is the only guy who had to compete with the SciLi for a date with his girlfriend. Yes, I even spent a lot of time with SciLi, even Friday and Saturday nights studying. But somehow I found enough time for Ted that we decided to get married after I graduated…

Anyway, I have this postcard that reminds me of SciLi carrels where I used to try to hide myself and study, while looking out the window at the office of the man I loved. What a nerdy romance. But I’m keeping it – the card and the love!

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2 responses so far ↓

  • 1 Ted Leung // Nov 16, 2003 at 7:09 pm

    Here’s my score…

    Here is the result of your Nerd Purity Test.
    You answered “yes” to 51 of 100 questions, making you 49.0% nerd pure (51.0% nerd corrupt); that is, you are 49.0% pure in the nerd domain (you have 51.0% nerd in you).
    Your Weirdness Factor (AKA Uniqueness Factor) is 41%, based on a comparison of your test results with 378675 other submissions for this test.

    The average purity for this test is 73.7%.

  • 2 Katherine // Nov 19, 2003 at 3:07 pm

    And as for me: “You answered “yes” to 23 of 100 questions, making you 77.0% nerd pure (23.0% nerd corrupt); that is, you are 77.0% pure in the nerd domain (you have 23.0% nerd in you). Your Weirdness Factor (AKA Uniqueness Factor) is 26%.”