Are engineering students really as unsocial and nerdy as the nerds on The Big Bang Theory?

This article explains how science and engineering students are often stereotyped as unsocial and nerdy, just like the characters on The Big Bang Theory, but in reality, they are a diverse group of people with many different personalities and characteristics. It also highlights positive changes in the nerd image through examples of successful nerds.

 

What do people think of “science and engineering students”? In my case, before I entered middle school, I thought of inventors and scientists such as Edison, Curie, and Einstein, and after that, I drew images of science and engineering students from the drama “KAIST. Until now, there have been many medical dramas about hospitals and medical schools, and dramas about middle and high schools, but ‘KAIST’ was the first drama that depicted the lives of science and engineering students, so many people still ask, “If you go to engineering school, will you experiment and build robots like in KAIST?” However, these days, people find images of science and engineering students in other things besides ‘KAIST’. The Big Bang Theory is a sitcom.
The Big Bang Theory is a sitcom drama that aired on CBS in the United States. It began in September 2007 and ran for 12 seasons until May 2019. The show is set in Pasadena, California, and follows four friends working at Caltech: Leonard, an experimental physicist; Sheldon, a theoretical physicist; Howard, an aerospace engineer; and Rajesh, an astrophysicist. At first glance, these characters don’t seem like a fun bunch, but that’s if you consider that they’re not just scientists, but nerds.

Nerd, n. An insignificant, foolish, or socially inept person; a person who is boringly conventional or studious. Now also: a person who pursues an unfashionable or highly technical interest with obsessive or exclusive dedication.

As you can see, the definition of nerd was originally used to describe a stupid and useless person, but nowadays it means “a person who is smart and an expert in a particular field, but is also a nerd who is deeply engrossed in an asocial hobby. In The Big Bang Theory, the main characters are elites in science with PhDs and master’s degrees and work at prestigious engineering schools, but their only friends are the four of them, a group of nerds who make weekly trips to the comic book store, get together to watch sci-fi dramas and play video games. The Big Bang Theory’s laugh code starts with the nerds. The main characters, who are in recognized positions in their fields of study, are hilarious when dealing with the opposite sex; they use scientific terms in their daily lives that are incomprehensible to non-scientists, yet they can’t drive or cook a simple meal; and they are scientists, yet they are enthusiastic about sci-fi dramas and unrealistic fantasy cartoons.
People who watch “The Big Bang Theory” ask, “Are there really nerds like Sheldon and Leonard in the sciences?” It’s a hard question to answer. It’s a hard question to answer, because sometimes you don’t feel nerdy at all, and then the next moment, you’re like, “Oh… I’m a nerd.” It depends on the individual, but generally speaking, I’m not too clueless to talk to the opposite sex, I’m not too clueless to talk about my boring major in front of my humanities and social studies friends, and I’m not particularly into science fiction or fantasy. The Big Bang Theory’s main characters are geniuses who earned their degrees at a young age, while we’re just average science and engineering students.
However, there are times when I feel similar to the characters in The Big Bang Theory. It’s not as bad as in the sitcom, but we often find ourselves mixing up our majors when talking to our classmates, sometimes doing bizarre things with computers and lab equipment (these people are called nerds), having different basic perceptions than our peers, and most importantly, being around mostly men.
It’s not always the case, but these are the kinds of behaviors that sometimes make science and engineering students seem like nerds to people who don’t have a connection to the field, similar to the characters on The Big Bang Theory. Because what is commonly referred to as common sense is so far removed from the content of their majors, the conversations of science and engineering students can seem like Sheldon and Leonard to most people. Rajesh’s awkwardness when talking to women is similar to mine, as he’s used to living in a predominantly male environment. He’s not particularly into science fiction or fantasy, but he’s also associated with computers and other tech gadgets.
Another example that comes to mind alongside “The Big Bang Theory” is a show called “Silicon Valley”. The show is set in Silicon Valley, where IT companies are concentrated, and follows young programmers as they create a startup. The show exaggerates the realities of Silicon Valley to make it more entertaining, but it also resonates with many IT workers. Again, the characters are nerdy, passionate about their technology, and asocial. The reason these shows are so popular is not just because they make us laugh, but because we see ourselves in them and can relate to them.
As we’ve said before, nerd is no longer a negative term. We nerds have an image of ourselves as elite, a bit socially awkward, and out of touch with mainstream culture, but that’s just because of our majors, and we’re actually science and engineering students who are striving to become experts in their fields, not elitist, and who crack self-help jokes because they’re stuck in a high academic wall.
The image of nerds is about to change from “dumb and useless” to “smart but nerdy,” and in the future, to something more positive. That’s because nerds are successful. Because nerds are deeply interested and immersed in a particular field, they contribute a lot to the development of that field and even contribute to society. A prime example of this is the “high-tech nerds” in IT. Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft, is a prime example of a high-tech nerd. He attended the prestigious Harvard University, fell in love with computers, which didn’t seem to have much promise at the time, dropped out of Harvard, founded Microsoft, and became a successful nerd by releasing MS-DOS and Windows. In addition to Bill Gates, other high-tech nerds such as Paul Allen, who co-founded Microsoft, Bill Hewlett and David Packard, who founded HP, and Gordon Moore, the founder of Intel, have set a new example by establishing charitable foundations and donating huge amounts of money to society. These nerds may seem like “nerds” now, but they have the potential to become leaders in the future. As Bill Gates once said during a speech at Mt. Whitney high school, “Be nice to nerds.

“Be nice to nerds. Chances are you’ll end up working for one.” – Bill Gates

As nerds achieve more and more social success, the perception of them is changing positively. It’s not just the efforts of individuals, but also evidence that society as a whole is moving toward respecting and embracing diverse talents and interests. We will continue to see more nerds in more fields, and their unique talents and passions will continue to make a difference in society.