Nerd Girls Blog
Nerd Girl Myths Dispelled: Don’t Pigeon-Hole Us!!
posted by Katy Williams on June 15, 2010
So, a quick look around the Internet and it seems like plenty of people think they have us Nerd Girls pegged. Well, not so fast. Time to bust some of the biggest Nerd Girl myths:
1. All Nerd Girls Love the Same Nerdy Things
I guess the whole point of calling someone a ‘nerd’ is to define and categorize them, and, yes, there are some things Nerd Girls do share - we tend to be intelligent, aware, and passionate - but beyond that, all bets are off.
There’s something in us Nerd Girls that makes us want to take our interests as far as we can, to plow through obstacles and challenge ourselves. But what are those interests? Could be anything. Beads. Renewable Energy. Insects. Words. You name it.
Now Casting!
posted by Chris Steele on June 01, 2010
We’ve got great news!
MPH Entertainment, producers of the Emmy nominated, hit TV show “Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan,” is producing the “Nerd Girls” reality television pilot.
Says MPH partner Jim Milio, “Popular culture has become obsessed with stereotyping young people. Young women seem especially vulnerable to narrow-minded labeling by their peers. We believe that empowering young women to demonstrate that ‘geek is chic’ and ‘brains are beautiful’ offers a potent and compelling message in today’s media-obsessed society.”
MPH, along with “Nerd Girls” partners Paola di Florio, Karen Johnson, Stephanie Davis and Dr. Panetta are beginning a nationwide search for talented female engineering and science students who defy stereotypes and have a multi-faceted life beyond the books.
Even I Can Make Music on the Web
posted by Katy Williams on April 22, 2010
Looking for something new to do? Try making music on the web. While you do, you’ll be stimulating both of the brain’s hemispheres - the ‘rational’ left hemisphere will be analyzing the structure of the music while the ‘intuitive’ right hemisphere creates the melody. (While many activities engage one side of the brain or the other, scans actually show that music stimulates both hemispheres more than any other activity.) While you’re at it, you might even increase the size of your corpus callosum - the canal that ferries information between the two hemispheres and is thought to be larger in musicians! Throw in music’s scientifically-proven ability to relax us, as well as its innate appeal to those of us who like math and physics, and what better way to get a workout!
If Necessity is the Mother of Invention, is Failure the Crazy Uncle?
posted by Katy Williams on April 09, 2010
Successful people love to talk about failure. From Ray Bradbury ("You fail only if you stop") to Melville ("He who has never failed somewhere… that man can never be great") and beyond, failure is an old and familiar subject. Oprah talks about her failed stint as a news reporter. Julia Roberts remembers failing to be cast in All My Children. In retrospect, it seems, the famous are all hopelessly nostalgic for the failures of their past. But, in the moment of our own letdown and disappointment, we can convince ourselves that no one else has ever failed quite as exceptionally as we have. So, how to change this paralyzing perception?
Geeks seeking geeks: A guide to nerd-friendly online dating
posted by Amy Lynch on March 25, 2010
Dating is hard. Those of us who want to find that missing jigsaw puzzle piece are constantly dealing with the frustrations of wading through a sea of mismatches, while those of us who just want to play the field can sometimes feel disconnected, alone and not just a little bit jaded. According to those in the know, it can be even harder for the… ahem… more intelligent set.
Social Media Packs a Punch When it Comes to Disaster Response
posted by Katy Williams on March 02, 2010
In Chile’s magnitude 8.8 earthquake, the country’s telecommunications have been hard hit, landlines suffering the most damage while mobile telephony has stayed relatively usable and intact. Add to that the fact that (according to MSNBC) 92 percent of the Chilean population has mobile phones and it is no surprise that Twitter and texting are playing a critical role in the aftermath of the quake. Here are some of the ways that social media is providing powerful support to Chile’s disaster and recovery efforts:
Chic Geek of the Week: Tina Fey
posted by Amy Lynch on December 04, 2008
She was the first female to earn the position of head writer of America’s most famous live sketch comedy show. She was named one of the “100 People Who Shape Our World” by TIME magazine. She immortalized herself as a master impersonator - and, frankly, spitting image of - one of the most polarizing figures in world politics today. And she made librarian glasses cool.
Tina Fey’s razor-sharp wit was evident in eighth grade when she leapt headfirst into an independent study project about comedy. Born to a brokerage employee and a grant writer in a suburb of Philadelphia, she grew up watching Saturday Night Live in the 1970s and 80s. Little did she know back then that she would later contribute to the episodes that raked in the show’s highest ratings ever (and became NBC.com’s most-watched viral video) by doing a series of dead-on impressions of vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin.
Celebrating Women in Computing
posted by Gail Carmichael on October 09, 2008
Have you ever been in a room with more than 1500 other ‘nerd girls’? Let me tell you, it’s the most amazing and unexpected feeling you could imagine. This is exactly what I got to experience the first week of October when I traveled to Keystone, Colorado for the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing. If you get excited while reading what I have to say about it, then mark your calendars for next year’s edition to be held around that first week of October in Tucson, Arizona. You won’t want to miss it.
Connect with Computer Science
posted by Gail Carmichael on September 25, 2008
If you thought that computer science was all about sitting in boring old cubicles, pounding away on the keyboard and writing code all day, think again! You can connect computer science with just about anything you’re interested in.
Take video games, for instance. If you have a passion for entertaining others, you can use the coding skills you learn in college to help develop the next blockbuster hit in one of the fastest growing industries around. But it goes much further than just programming.
Chic Geek of the Week: Summer Williams
posted by Amy Lynch on September 18, 2008
Let’s be honest: when we think of cheerleaders, several images automatically spring to mind. Ponytails. Pom poms. Short skirts. Rocket scientists with pilots’ licenses.
Wait… what? Maybe not so much that last part. Still, aerospace engineer Summer Williams stood amid the squad at Houston Texans games through two seasons, riling up the crowds and cheering for touchdowns. The Kansas native tried out for the squad in 2005, essentially on a dare from male colleagues who wanted to meet the squad members and thought Summer could help them. She had a background in cheerleading and dance, so she gave it a somewhat reluctant shot and was selected as one of 33 cheerleaders from the 1,000 women who showed up for tryouts that day.
