Nerd Quotient, NQ: L*log_10(N)
N = The number of arbitrary details you have mastered in the subject you know the most about
L = Difficulty of the subject in terms of the years of formal education typically needed to master it
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Comic books: N = number of characters artifacts, catchphrases, etc you can name (eg, Superman, kryptonite, “with great power comes great responsibility”), L = 5 (5th grade?)
Theoretical physics: N = number of laws, effects, phenomena you can name and state, L = 18 (MS?)
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Hard to compute N, but you could estimate with a 30-minute brainstorm sample. As in, write down as many terms etc without looking up on Google. Then assume the real number is 10x that, so N=10*N_sample (the log will go up by 1)
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There are no generalist nerds. Those are really just out-of-work middle managers in denial about the fact that they don't manage anything.
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Never really thought of myself as a nerd. More nerd-adjacent. But the numbers don't lie.
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This seems to treat "nerd" as distinct from "master" - In a subject one has mastered, there are few arbitrary details to track because the understanding that leads to mastery compresses those arbitrary details into a few easy-to-grasp rules and narratives.



