a paleo athlete: someone who geeks out about being a jock.

Oh brother! BA in philosophy. 2 MAs in the social sciences. Working on a PhD in poli sci at the center of the nerd/dork universe: U Chicago. Do stats with R. Downloaded Taubes and Sisson from torrents. Lastly, huge glasses.

I read OMNI magazine as a little girl.

I can quote Hamlet line by line from memory. I guess that makes me a total nerd - of the literary variety. (Yes, Brent Pottenger, if you're reading this, there are some random paleo people on the Internet who get an appreciate your Derrida/bricolage and all those random litcrit embedded allusions you include everywhere;)

I think I'm a nerd wanna-be. (Isn't that pathetic!) I try, but I was schooled in an age when girls weren't expected to really thrive in math or science.

I tend not to understand why half a percent is statistically significant in one place, while several percentage points are not statistically significant in other places. I felt pretty inadequate when reading Good Calories, Bad Calories. (But I read the whole thing.)

I also tend to not quite get the Star Wars or Dr. Who quotes right. (But I do fairly well with Monty Python. :-)

What does it make me that I carried a 10 lbs. Oxford English-Spanish dictionary in my backpack for 5 years even though I had left the U after year two and the last three were abroad on vacation? I like me some learnin' and tend to be on the obsessed side. So according to the graph, I'm probably a true geek, with nerd tendencies. THE NERDS SHALL INHERIT THE EARTH.

I am a nerd, but an English-lit kind of nerd. And you might not know at first that I am - because I work in PR, wear make-up and spend lots on clothes. I have recently rediscovered that I am actually ok at science - after giving up on chemistry in high-school (too much maths). In any case, I am coping well with reading Good Calories, Bad Calories. And I love that the internet allows you to find people who obsess over this stuff - cos most people I know think I am slightly unbalanced about it. But hey, they all have a lot more bodyfat than me, so who's right? ;-)

Yes it's true! While I'm not currently working in the field I did get a degree in Cisco networking and web development. Unfortunately I just can't seem to get as excited about programming as I am about nutrition.

The only paleo people I know are CrossFitters, they kind of straddle a no mans land between jjockdom and nerdom.

First, YES. Duh.

Second, I'd like to throw out two more ideas about nerds in paleo.

1) I think we're a very internet-based movement (or at least it looks that way from my monitor!), which may account for the high percentage of nerd/computer oriented folk. Perhaps, too, the availability of information on the internet and ease with which we've been able to share it was a big contributor to (the beginnings of the) end of the Anti-Fat Monopoly.

2) The paleo diet and way-of-life requires an understanding of basic human history and science. And it requires an investment of mental energy. And maybe time, too, if we're going hiking and playing sports on the weekends and all of that. And this is why (I think), contrary to, say, weight watchers, the paleo movement generally floats in more highly educated circles.

Anyway. Woo!

Old post, but since I just joined, I felt the need to respond to this.

My friend and I who just started the paleo diet about a month ago are IT's and huge video game nerds.

My level of nerd goes much deeper, but I'll just leave it at that. >.>

I would say it's full of skeptics and tinkers.

My suspicion is that it's not necessarily geeks/nerds but rather logical/analytical thinkers as well as those that like digging back to root causes. While those types are represented more by the geekier/nerdier types, it not true across the spectrum of people.

I'm working on my PhD in applied math, so yes, I'm a nerd and I've never followed the herd!

I am a medical nerd, herbal remedies, human anatomy, human pathology etc... I am an extensive collection of skulls. Its a passion :p so yes, very nerdy over this way!

NERDS!!!!

• Ogre from "Revenge of the Nerds"

Not sure what my label would be, but I like to get to the bottom of things and figure out how they're supposed to work. Not things like physical objects...more like non-tangibles like health or English grammar...

And math and I do NOT get along...is that a requirement for nerdiness? 8)

Absolutely! For me a "diet" is impossible to follow unless it makes rational and beautiful sense. I need to know that the steps involved are parts of a meaningful whole. If there is a core set of ideas, then I don't need recipe book after recipe book because I can create my own diet from core principles.

How nerdy can one get?

Btw, I see the problem of not being concerned about core principles in my wife. She likes the result (I've lost almost 30 lbs), but has a 'critique' for most aspects of my eating changes ("all that saturated fat - it HAS to be bad for your heart!"). She isn't interested in the principles but wants to know "how many carbs does a slice of bread have?" That kind of thinking is what Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, Nutrisystem - any restrictive based diets - are based on: you count the total of Bad Things and try but ultimately fail to limit them.

Old thread buy anyway... I was as a starter on the varsity squad of every sport my highschool had; basketball, football, track & field. Buuut... I was also captain of my Knowledge Bowl team and since HS I've enjoyed reading books on evolution and anthropology for fun (that was before I ever heard about Paleo).

I'm a life-long musical theatre/drama and Classical music nerd and a hardcore linguistics nerd (currently a ling major at UPenn... super nerdy...). I also make literature references a LOT and enjoy the daily crossword puzzles...
I'm a nerd and loving it, though!

Guilty!

Nutrition, biochemistry, and (epi)genetics are currently my main interests, but I used to be in high level tech support troubleshooting graphics software, commercial RIPS, and the networking and repair of 15 to 30 foot wide printers... Fun, but not a very Paleo job.

I like being a ranger and working on my nutrition degree more. I still get to geek out, just about my own health, longevity and performance. And hike- LOTS of hiking. :)

Giant girly nerd, reporting in!

There seems to be a focus in paleo about explaining/understanding the science, possibly as a side effect of being dismissed as a "silly fad to try to act like a caveman".
The science does tend to attract a lot of nerds, because instead of some random guy saying "eat this, it'll make you thin", it's people saying "eat this, it'll make you healthy and look good and here's how and why". I like knowing why things work, and why I'm doing something.

Brainy is SEXY!!!

I am an IT Director at my company. Very much a nerd.

I'm a scientist, heavily involved in mathematics and engineering. Theoretical work (simulations) and analytical thinking are part of my life. Only lately I found out I am gluten intolerant, then I turned to Paleo due to fatigue after consumption of gluten free high carb stuff. A second life has started - almost new born.

I need to make you aware of Ashkenazi Jews, which have a high prevalence in gluten intolerance. They usually are quite intelligent, but are considered as nerds.

nerdy Jews http://www.jewlicious.com/2009/04/la-times-jewish-ashkenazi-genetic-mutations-created-super-human-race-of-rich-nerds/

Gluten http://www.ou.org/shabbat_shalom/article/affliction_from_within_celiac_disease_in_the_jewish_community

There seems to be something about gluten intolerance, IQ and genetic disorder, however, I cant resolve this one, though an interesting field of research.

After all, the Paleo approach requires a certain IQ in order to dive into nasty endocrine discussion, it requires a critical mind to question traditions and it may need a personal history of a bloated gut.

Informative site, btw.,

regards

I consider myself a bad-a$$ nerd. Civil Engineer/Harley rider...

My husband and I met in real analysis (math) class. We are both paleo.

Professional hacker. Former nationally-ranked strongman. Total social pariah at times. Lover of fringe fashion choices (kilts). Attempts to DIY/Handcraft anything needed, which inadvertently leads to a room of failed junked crafts. Longs for a simpler, less complicated "off the grid" life while simultaneously contemplating how life can be improved with more technology. Obsessed with anthropology and early civilized history.

I'm not a nerd. I'm the nerd.

If I am lusting over the upcoming Tron release and I am stoked that Disney wrapped a monorail in Tron Lightcycle imagery what am I? BS in Chemistry, MBA in International Business but I am an Internal Auditor who is a certified IS auditor. Big time sports enthusiast. I think I might classify as a spazz?

i am dumd, so no.