Sports jocks watch out: Your time in the limelight might be over. Geeks are back in vogue.
THEY’RE ready to change the world, just as soon as they work out the source code. Among the rich and famous, geekery just keeps on growing. Vin Diesel has been playing Dungeons and Dragons for 20 years. Natalie Portman went to Harvard. Emma Watson, geek-witch Hermione in Harry Potter, spent time at Brown before moving university (every time she answered a question someone would shout “10 points for Gryffindor!”) Even Kanye West is escorted by a troupe of bespectacled males. Mark Zuckerberg, Lisa Simpson, David Farrier: they’ve all got something we want.
In Wellington, we’ve got nerdnite. It’s a chance to don specs and suspenders, meet, drink and learn something new. Squares are not anti-social; sometimes they’re just not user-friendly. But as the old joke goes, there’re also the extroverted geeks (they stare at your shoes). Techies and trekkies will meet at nerdnite to socialise and listen to presentations. It’s like the Discovery Channel – with bar snacks – and the next one is arranged to coincide with International Talk Like A Pirate Day.
Nerdnite Wellington founder Aimee Whitcroft says nerds are at the forefront of new technology. On the night, Bar Bodega is always packed out.
“It’s absolutely acceptable to be interested in dorkdom and it’s cool to know how things work,” she says.
Whitcroft likes geeks enormously.
“They’re interesting and they’re sweet!”
Science, software and computing are popular in the city, says Whitcroft, and Wellington hosts the Southern hemisphere’s only nerdnite.
“There’s a concentration of geekery here.”
It just takes a quick scroll down nerdnite’s Twitter page to see these geeks are serious. They’ve shared cryptic crosswords cheat sheets, an E-zine devoted to particle physics and a request for taxidermy specialists. The next nerdnite is all about data. There will be presentations on information processing by Victoria University PhD candidate Matt Boyd and caching by David Preece who mashes numbers for Weta. They’ve even included a musical outro from cult video game Portal. Nom.
Young geeks will turn up in hoodies and T-shirts, but if they’re a bit older they may choose a shirt, says Whitcroft. However, nerds have inspired a kind of “geek chic” style that’s been on the up for a while.
The look is definitely popular in Wellington with our high student population, says a Ginny McMullen of Wellington designers Papercup.
“Being a city filled with educated folk means a lot of geek, but a lot of chic too.”
Clothing store Recycle Boutique agrees.’
“People ask for little pleated skirts, button up shirts and wee cardies. Among people who wear spectacles there’s a tendency to go for larger frames.”
It’s all about the masculine look, says Tomoko Tayama at Karen Walker Wellington.
“You need confidence to pull it off. It’s about tailored trousers for women, blazers, the boxy style, suspenders and the shorter leg.”
Science is sexy too. The New Zealander of the Year is scientist Sir Paul Callaghan, possibly inspiring many entrants in this year’s Wellington Science Fair. Hosted at Victoria University, 446 student projects will be displayed from 43 Wellington schools.
The judging panel will interview students on August 26 before announcing more than $10,000 in prizes the following day. This year’s projects are exciting and innovative, says Dr Julie Hall of NIWA, and the VUW Innovation Prize is $4,000 towards first year fees of an undergraduate or science degree at Victoria.
“This is a great way to get school students to think about and engage with science,” says Hall.
Wellington’s political pub the Back Bencher is hosting a Science and Innovation Special on August 31 to discuss research and development, government science spending and agricultural innovation.
MPs, representatives from Massey University and Federated Farmers will be present.
There are geek-inspired events happening in Wellington a lot, so as they say at nerdnite, be there and be square. But if you’re going to bring your calculator, remember: don’t drink and derive.
Wellington Science Fair, Victoria University, August 26.
Science & Innovation Special, Back Bencher Pub, August 31.
Nerdnite Wellington, Bar Bodega, September 19.