attn: overly educated nerds

Started by Joel, April 01, 2015, 12:45:54 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Mathim

I'm a chem major. I geek out about it whenever someone brings up something I can apply it to.
Considering a permanent retirement from Elliquiy, but you can find me on Blue Moon (under the same username).

RavenBlackmoon

Going to be graduating with a BA in English literature and a minor in Anthropology in about a month (I am decidedly ignoring thinking about the exact date of graduation).

I'm interested in culture, people, history, society, relationships, the sex positive movement, theatre, and enjoy books, tv, movies, and various crafts for fun.

Torterrable

Rising Junior studying the pre-med track. I like Chemistry and Biology, and have some experience with practical lab work.

My true expertise, however, lies in competitive Pokemon :P


Kellykonnoisseur

I am very excited about going to an Ivy League school next Spring and considering how I'm a self-ascribed Libertarian I read a lot that applies to the subject matter. I am far from an academic but I am very excited to be on the right path because I'd like nothing more than to teach someday. :-)

Parker

Aloha, nerds.

I am a principal user experience architect with schooling in cogpsych, criminal justice, human computer interaction, and sociocultural anthropology. I'm not an academic but have worked for diff tech think tanks in various capacities, mostly to help businesses and orgs understand this whole Internet thing, and how to get by in a world where more and more people are connected more and more.

As a bit of nerd-ness to submit, I give you Google's Material Design specification - a very well thought out and approachable paradigm of developing interfaces and interactions for a variety of touchpoints including monitor, mobile, tablet, overlay, gesture, and "other."

( "Huh huh. He said "touchpoints.' huh huh..." )

;D

Tuxedocat

Hey folks.

I'm a philosophy and English geek primarily, but I do have some knowledge in different fields relative to mythology (I would say religion but that makes people think monotheism too much, in my experience) that I have picked up over the years as I have considered deeper study in anthropology, religious studies, psychology, medieval studies, and what I believe is called philology, though that term isn't really in vogue any more (at least from what I've seen). I also have some interdisciplinary knowledge related to "disability studies," but that's primarily done through the lens of literary criticism since those were the sources I mostly encountered. If I ever return to academia proper, I hope to do work on the representation of disabled people in the media.
Check out my preferences as of 23 Jul. 2015.

Jazra

I did two and a half years of graduate school after college and have an advanced degree, but I work for a gaming (think gambling, not video games) company now and my ability to compare and contrast poetry in several languages rarely comes up. So no longer an academic, but educated.
Ons & Offs
Absences

Boy, “If I and a slice of pizza fall in the water, which do you save?

Girl, wipes grease off her chin, “Why'd you let my pizza fall in the water?”

Oniya

Quote from: Tuxedocat on August 15, 2015, 09:53:26 PM
what I believe is called philology, though that term isn't really in vogue any more (at least from what I've seen).

Historical linguistics?
"Language was invented for one reason, boys - to woo women.~*~*~Don't think it's all been done before
And in that endeavor, laziness will not do." ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Don't think we're never gonna win this war
Robin Williams-Dead Poets Society ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Don't think your world's gonna fall apart
I do have a cause, though.  It's obscenity.  I'm for it.  - Tom Lehrer~*~All you need is your beautiful heart
O/O's Updated 5/11/21 - A/A's - Current Status! - Writing a novel - all draws for Fool of Fire up!
Requests updated March 17

Vandren

I don't consider myself overly educated, not all that bright, but:

Academic Literary Criticism book published (2013)
13 years of teaching college composition and, twice, literature courses (inc. guest lecturing a Children's Lit course session on The Hobbit)

PhD in English Language and Literature
- Official Specialties: Medieval, Early Modern, and Speculative Fiction
- Dissertation included Jungian theory, YA literature, folklore, a touch of theology, a touch of legal history
- Fluent in 3-4 dialects of Middle English, reading knowledge of Old English/Anglo-Saxon

MA in English Language and Literature

BA in English with a minor (almost double major) in History
- Considered a second minor in Comparative Religion, couldn't make it work logistically.
"Life is growth.  If we stop growing, technically and spiritually, we are as good as dead." -Morihei Ueshiba, O-Sensei

Oniya

The fact that you can read Old English more than qualifies you as 'bright' in my book.
"Language was invented for one reason, boys - to woo women.~*~*~Don't think it's all been done before
And in that endeavor, laziness will not do." ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Don't think we're never gonna win this war
Robin Williams-Dead Poets Society ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Don't think your world's gonna fall apart
I do have a cause, though.  It's obscenity.  I'm for it.  - Tom Lehrer~*~All you need is your beautiful heart
O/O's Updated 5/11/21 - A/A's - Current Status! - Writing a novel - all draws for Fool of Fire up!
Requests updated March 17

Vandren

Eh, it's no worse than German.  :)

I tend to consider myself more stubborn that intellectual.
"Life is growth.  If we stop growing, technically and spiritually, we are as good as dead." -Morihei Ueshiba, O-Sensei

Bibliophilia

-squeals at finding another English nerd.-  Hi!

I'm 19 credits shy of my BA in English, though I have taken pretty much every English course known to man.  I recently discovered a love of Philosophy and I'm planning to go on to my Master of Library Science after I've finished my B.A.  I wanted to be a professor until about a year ago, when I began to lose my faith in academia and worked in a library for a while.  Loved the work, and decided I'd rather do that for the rest of my life, than deal with the bullshit in academia.

-sighs.-  When I started University, it was so much different than it is now.  Now it just feels like a degree mill, and I lament the price I pay every semester to be uninspired by my professors.  The other students all seem to just be Education majors, and not really care about the subjects we study.  There are no more amazing discussions in class, or in the student lounge.  The papers they write they brag about 'bullshitting' them, and they have no talent for, or desire to learn, the art of deeply exploring literature and poetry.

Sorry. this became a very depressing introduction.  -hands out cookies.-  Anyhow, hi there!

SoldadoM

So yeah. I'm a tech nerd by trade, but I spend a large portion of my time researching history, psychology, philosophy, religion, and linguistics.

I'm absolutely fascinated by the way that technology has affected society through the millenia. And for some reason working with, not as, a copy editor has made me something of a grammar tyrant.

Does anyone else find it interesting, and scary that between 2004 and 2011 subscribers collectively spent nearly 6 million years playing World of Warcraft?

Vandren

Howdy.  :)

Quote from: Bibliophilia on September 27, 2015, 07:50:23 PM
I recently discovered a love of Philosophy and I'm planning to go on to my Master of Library Science after I've finished my B.A.

Good choice.  Though starting out in MLIS can be/is rather rough, it's still better than trying to start out in academia (I'm giving up as soon as my family situation changes, e.g. kid's in school full time).  The corporatization of higher ed is . . . well, I could go on about that for years.  I'd favor a more European-style set up, but that's "elitist" and "undemocratic" to some (sure, it's elitist, but I've seen *way* too many people who don't belong in college doing the college thing, racking up massive debt and resentment issues in the process).
"Life is growth.  If we stop growing, technically and spiritually, we are as good as dead." -Morihei Ueshiba, O-Sensei

Bibliophilia

I recently read a blog post on Gin and Tacos about that very thing, Van.  The reason so many people now attend college and rack up that debt, even if they shouldn't be there, is because so many employers are now requiring, or showing a marked preference for, people with degrees.  Doesn't matter what the degree is in, just as long as you have a degree from a 4 year college.  Never mind that the position is easily done by someone straight out of high school, or that not specifying what sort of degree you require makes it blatantly obvious that a degree really isn't necessary to do the work, employers still add that caveat to their job postings.

So, yeah, you end up with people getting a degree in something they don't give a shit about, just to have one.  And since they don't care, and they can get away with just 'bullshitting' their way to a degree, they'll do it.  Colleges don't give a shit, because they're getting their money either way.  It just...  -takes a breath.-

Okay, really done now.

Vandren

Something I could hold forth on for a very long time.

Meanwhile, faculty are increasingly becoming adjunct (part-time), my own campus is 80% part-time faculty, who can barely make ends meet (if they're lucky).  IIRC, the part-time pay rate at my institution is roughly $1900 per class.  If you're lucky enough to get 10 courses over the 9 months we're in session, that'll net an annual income of $19,000 before taxes, no benefits, requires at least a Master's degree (I made twice that with a B.A. as a "Inventory Control Specialist" before grad school).

On the other hand, more and more upper administrators (deans, VPs, etc.) keep popping up with salaries in excess of $700,000 (national average).

But, it's the cost of faculty salaries that's increasing college tuition . . .

Anyhew . . .  </rant>

Back to my second job and novel editing.  :)
"Life is growth.  If we stop growing, technically and spiritually, we are as good as dead." -Morihei Ueshiba, O-Sensei

DahliaBlossom

I'm currently in school for Psychology behavioural analysis, art (photography, painting, drawing, illstration), and language (German, French, Japanese..well there's a giant list, I'm doing linguistics). I also have dabbled in biochemistry, 3D Modelling for video games, human sexuality, creative writing, and some other stuff.

AmberStarfire

I have a Masters in Editing and Publishing, and studied Journalism, English Literature and some classes in Public Relations before that. I have a Grad Cert in Applied Communications (which is probably the most useless subject ever). :D After finishing that, I studied two classes in web development (learning XHTML, CSS, PHP and MySQL). I'm an Oracle-certified MySQL developer (and I have the shiny silver card), but I haven't used it much in the last few years (just bits and pieces on my own sites and occasional unsolicited web advice).

I'm part of the over-educated, under-employed group I suppose. I'm self-employed, but I've been job hunting without much luck. I think my background is too diverse and not focused enough, and people seem reluctant to hire you for a job unrelated to your major area of study in case you're not satisfied there. I'm too qualified for about the only jobs I could get, but wrongly-qualified for the higher level jobs (and without enough experience). I'd like to be and stay self-employed, but I need to have enough success with it.


clonkertink

I'm in the final year of my PhD in Pure Math. On the one hand, I like the project I'm working on, and it'll be satisfying to finally finish it. On the other hand, I've finally grown tired of the Ivory Tower, and it'll be nice to get out into the wider world.

I sort of miss my undergrad days. I had a pretty diverse program, and I knew a lot of people dabbling in everything from literature, to chemistry, to psychology, to film studies. When you've got that many people who are all really smart in really different ways, it makes for some very interesting conversations. Especially at 2 AM when you're all sick of staring at whatever paper is due the next day.



EdwardThatch

I'm in the ministry.  I have BA's in English Lit and Philosophy of Religion as well as a Masters and five doctorates in Theology.  I love science, especially quantum mechanics and astrophysics.

Over my life my personal library has held over a 1000 texts.  In addition to English I have a working knowledge of three other languages and a passing diddling in several others.

Does that qualify me as a nerd?

Quote:  St Julian of Norwich, "All will be well, all will be well and all manner of things will be well."

FigTree

Hooray, academic friends!

I'm in my first year of a PhD in Theatre Studies and will also be completing a graduate certificate in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. I geek out about musical theatre, queer and feminist theatre, and performances of the intersectionality of sexuality and faith.

I have an MA, but my undergrad degree (aside from the BA in Psychology I don't use) is actually a BFA, and most of my professional work has been as a performer or director or teaching performance - so, I'm more of an artist-scholar than a conventional academic.
.·:*¨¨*:·..·:*:·..·:*¨¨*:·.
Ons/Offs and Image Inspirations
Current Requests Here
A/As Storytelling

.·:*¨¨*:·..·:*:·..·:*¨¨*:·.

Oniya

Quote from: EdwardThatch on October 05, 2016, 11:47:18 PM
I'm in the ministry.  I have BA's in English Lit and Philosophy of Religion as well as a Masters and five doctorates in Theology.  I love science, especially quantum mechanics and astrophysics.

Not sure if you know about this, but Stanford University has uploaded numerous lectures by Dr. Leonard Susskind to YouTube.  I occasionally put these on in place of TV, which we gave up about 5 years ago.
"Language was invented for one reason, boys - to woo women.~*~*~Don't think it's all been done before
And in that endeavor, laziness will not do." ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Don't think we're never gonna win this war
Robin Williams-Dead Poets Society ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Don't think your world's gonna fall apart
I do have a cause, though.  It's obscenity.  I'm for it.  - Tom Lehrer~*~All you need is your beautiful heart
O/O's Updated 5/11/21 - A/A's - Current Status! - Writing a novel - all draws for Fool of Fire up!
Requests updated March 17

HannibalBarca

I'm not a college or university educator, but--gasp--an elementary school teacher.  It's far from what I studied for, but it was my choice of career.  I graduated with a BA in History, minor in English, and before that received AAs in Computer Graphics, Desktop Publishing, and Photography.  I'd intended to teach in high school, and possible at the junior college level eventually.  However, outside of schooling, I've been reading since I was 4 years old--my parents started me early.  I had a 9th grade reading level in 3rd grade--or at least, that's what the test said.  My mornings as a child consisted of eating cereal while reading whatever volume I was currently on in one of our two encyclopedia sets.  My father was Air Force, and often questioned me on what I was reading while at the breakfast table.  Seeing as I had six other family members who served in the military, I was morbidly fascinated with military history.  My grandfathers, both WW2 veterans, were also history buffs, and practically drowned me in history books for Christmas and my birthday.

Fortunately, I've always had broad interests, and avidly pursue knowledge and the latest information on the sciences (particularly physics and astronomy), psychology (having helped my ex earn a bachelor's in child psychology), literature, religious studies, economics, and politics.  When I discovered Isaac Asimov, I adopted him as my patron saint, so to speak.

My son is a chip off the old block as well.  When he was younger (he's 14 now) he used to ask me to regale him with tales of Hannibal Barca and the Punic Wars as bedtime stories.  There's a reason I use the general as my moniker here!  The kid's becoming an amazing writer in his own right, too...he puts what I wrote at his age to shame.

Oniya, I don't own a television as well, and have spent countless hours on Youtube watching lectures and wisdom from the likes of Dr. Susskind, among others.  There is a lot of good stuff on there.
“Those who lack drama in their
lives strive to invent it.”   ― Terry Masters
"It is only when we place hurdles too high to jump
before our characters, that they learn how to fly."  --  Me
Owed/current posts
Sigs by Ritsu

RedRose

Great thread!

I have tons of weird interests, which puzzles people as I apparently don't look the part. I've had a teacher tell me she thought I was superficial in the beginning of the year but then she changed her mind at first test (not the only time I've had similar comments but that was the more open). :/

I LOVE genealogy and was lucky enough to be taught about it as a kid and on my own family's documents. I have probably spent thousands of hours on old portraits, texts and trees and became quite a specialist. I'm kinda burned out but I'm still the go-to person (at least among the new generation) for relatives who need help or infos. Some assume it's ok not to call me for years and then text me "who's aunt Ida's paternal grandfather again" or "where did the Blooms live during the XVIth century I forgot". If there's a weird language or name, it's also me that my friends ask.

I'm very interested in history. My father is older and lived through several European - local and colonial - wars, both as the victim and as the occupier. I probably know more about all that than I would care to (except for the topics he won't mention or just plain deny), but per se I love history. I was born a long time after those but it was still in his mind enough to teach me to shoot as a child (absolutely illegal). I didn't find it so weird at the time, as I had cousins in similar situations. Medals on the wall and all. You name a Euro army and I probably had a relative involved.

I love learning about different cultures and cultural differences. I am well-travelled if I may say so and tend/try not to judge, though sometimes it's impossible. Anyway, discovering the real culture behind the touristic façade is well worth it, discussing with people, learning some words... I'm generally good with languages. English is my third.

Can't forget music, literature and movies, actually studied (French) lit and cinema at university though my main was English and attended a select music school near the Champs Elysées as a child, then a theater conservatoire as a teen. I also have a degree in economics (hate) and sociology (love). I'm certainly forgetting things...

Obviously I love writing  :)
O/O and ideas - write if you'd be a good Aaron Warner (Juliette) [Shatter me], Tarkin (Leia), Wilkins (Faith) [Buffy the VS]
[what she reading: 50 TALES A YEAR]



midnightblack

I have a PhD in theoretical physics. It's pretty useful. For example, one day I overheard a discussion between two women, with one of them stumped on a math problem her kid got in primary school. They had to find out how many students and how many benches are present in a classroom if you know how many benches remain empty when you distribute students in them in certain ways. The fact that I managed to explain the solution to her feels like one of the bigger achievements of my life so far.
The Midnight Lodge (O2 thread & completed tales compendium)
Thy Nightly Chambers (requests) updated!
Zerzura (albeit short, the best collaborative story I've ever completed here)