--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My best definition of a nerd: someone who…" description: "\"My best definition of a nerd: someone who asks you to explain an aphorism\" — Nassim Nicholas Taleb" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/593/nassim-nicholas-taleb-352_aphorism_my-best-definition-of-a-nerd-someone-who_2872694.png" --- # My best definition of a nerd: someone who asks you to… ![“My best definition of a nerd: someone who asks you to explain an aphorism” quote by Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/593/nassim-nicholas-taleb-352_aphorism_my-best-definition-of-a-nerd-someone-who_2872694.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/593/nassim-nicholas-taleb-352_aphorism_my-best-definition-of-a-nerd-someone-who_2872694.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/593/nassim-nicholas-taleb-352_aphorism_my-best-definition-of-a-nerd-someone-who_2872694.png) > “My best definition of a nerd: someone who asks you to explain an aphorism” [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A nerd is someone who seeks deeper explanations, often probing beyond surface meanings. **In simple terms:** Nerds love deep explanations. Key Takeaway Encourage curiosity. Themes intellectual curiosity definition nerd culture Mood analytical playful Type educational philosophical When to use this quote - academic research - philosophical debate - technical troubleshooting - creative writing Key Concepts epistemology critical thinking Questions to Reflect On - What drives your desire to explain? - How can you foster curiosity in others? A Different Perspective Not all inquisitive people identify as nerds. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Aphorism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aphorism/) [Nerd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nerd/) ## Related quotes > [Might not hurt you to pick up a book, just as an experiment." Whatever. I looked up the definition for 'nerd' in the dictionary.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-mull/might-not-hurt-you-to-pick-up-a-book-just-as-an-experiment-whatever-i/) [Brandon Mull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-mull/) > [“a new definition of the nerd: a person who knows his own mind well enough to mistrust it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-lewis/a-new-definition-of-the-nerd-a-person-who-knows-his-own-mind-well/) [Michael Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-lewis/) > [There have been many definitions of hell, but for the English the best definition is that it is the place where the Germans are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-frost/there-have-been-many-definitions-of-hell-but-for-the-english-the-best/) [David Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-frost/) > [The best definition of an immortal is someone who hasn't died yet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-holt/the-best-definition-of-an-immortal-is-someone-who-hasn-t-died-yet/) [Tom Holt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-holt/) > [But the best definition of it is to say that heaven is that state where we will always be with Jesus, and where nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-barclay/but-the-best-definition-of-it-is-to-say-that-heaven-is-that-state/) [William Barclay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-barclay/) > [The best definition of the word culture (workplaces included) that I've heard is that it's how people behave when nobody is watching.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gwyn-morgan/the-best-definition-of-the-word-culture-workplaces-included-that-i-ve/) Gwyn Morgan > [What is the best definition of empty? Being somewhere and thinking about you, and knowing youre not next to me. I miss you¦no matter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-is-the-best-definition-of-empty-being-somewhere-and-thinking/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I even think the best definition of man is: a being that goes on two legs and is ungrateful.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/i-even-think-the-best-definition-of-man-is-a-being-that-goes-on-two/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [And I think, in the end, that is the best definition of journalism I have heard; to challenge authority - all authority - especially…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-fisk/and-i-think-in-the-end-that-is-the-best-definition-of-journalism-i/) [Robert Fisk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-fisk/) > [“Every single person is a fool, insane, a failure, or a bad person to at least ten people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/every-single-person-is-a-fool-insane-a-failure-or-a-bad-person-to-at/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [I suspect the I.Q., SAT, and school grades are tests designed by nerds so they can get high scores in order to call each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/i-suspect-the-i-q-sat-and-school-grades-are-tests-designed-by-nerds/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [“An expensive coffin does not decrease the deceased’s chances of going to hell.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/an-expensive-coffin-does-not-decrease-the-deceased-s-chances-of-going/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [“Listen! The court jester's cap and bells. The King is coming!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ljupka-cvetanova/listen-the-court-jester-s-cap-and-bells-the-king-is-coming/) [Ljupka Cvetanova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ljupka-cvetanova/) > [“For their never-ending endeavours to obtain or retain wealth, countries desperately need companies, because they—unlike most human beings—have the means of production, and human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/for-their-never-ending-endeavours-to-obtain-or-retain-wealth/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [“Who flies high, easily chooses his target.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ljupka-cvetanova/who-flies-high-easily-chooses-his-target/) [Ljupka Cvetanova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ljupka-cvetanova/) ## More by Nassim Nicholas Taleb > [To become a philosopher, start by walking very slowly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/to-become-a-philosopher-start-by-walking-very-slowly/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [Wittgenstein's ruler: Unless you have confidence in the ruler's reliability, if you use a ruler to measure a table you may also be using…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/wittgenstein-s-ruler-unless-you-have-confidence-in-the-ruler-s/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [In politics we face the choice between warmongering, nation-state loving, big-business agents on one hand; and risk-blind, top-down, epistemic arrogant big servants of large…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/in-politics-we-face-the-choice-between-warmongering-nation-state/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [My nightmare scenario is that the government saves Citibank once again, as well as the other banks, and business resumes as usual. Then, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/my-nightmare-scenario-is-that-the-government-saves-citibank-once/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [Using, as an excuse, others' failure of common sense is in itself a failure of common sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/using-as-an-excuse-others-failure-of-common-sense-is-in-itself-a/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [You know, children philosophize more than adults - and they are critical of adults.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/you-know-children-philosophize-more-than-adults-and-they-are-critical/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [“Suckers think that you cure greed with money, addiction with substances, expert problems with experts, banking with bankers, economics with economists, and debt crises…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/suckers-think-that-you-cure-greed-with-money-addiction-with/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [“One needs to go out and buy a lottery ticket in order to win. Does it mean that the work involved in the trip…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/one-needs-to-go-out-and-buy-a-lottery-ticket-in-order-to-win-does-it/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [Individuals should think about the worst-case scenarios and plan for them. The world will be crazier than you think it will be. Put money…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/individuals-should-think-about-the-worst-case-scenarios-and-plan-for/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [“If you are looking for your misplaced wallet in your living room, in a trial and error mode, you exercise rationality by not looking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/if-you-are-looking-for-your-misplaced-wallet-in-your-living-room-in-a/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [“Most humans manage to squander their free time, as free time makes them dysfunctional, lazy, and unmotivated—the busier they get, the more active they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/most-humans-manage-to-squander-their-free-time-as-free-time-makes/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [We learn the most from fools ... yet we pay them back with the worst ingratitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/we-learn-the-most-from-fools-yet-we-pay-them-back-with-the-worst/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [We are victims of the post-Enlightenment view that the world functions like a sophisticated machine, to be understood like a textbook engineering problem and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/we-are-victims-of-the-post-enlightenment-view-that-the-world/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [“loss of bone density and degradation of the health of the bones also causes aging, diabetes, and, for males, loss of fertility and sexual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/loss-of-bone-density-and-degradation-of-the-health-of-the-bones-also/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [“It takes a huge investment in introspection to learn that the thirty or more hours spent “studying” the news last month neither had any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/it-takes-a-huge-investment-in-introspection-to-learn-that-the-thirty/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) [Explore all 635 Nassim Nicholas Taleb quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) ## More Aphorism quotes > [“Who flies high, easily chooses his target.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ljupka-cvetanova/who-flies-high-easily-chooses-his-target/) [Ljupka Cvetanova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ljupka-cvetanova/) > [“For their never-ending endeavours to obtain or retain wealth, countries desperately need companies, because they—unlike most human beings—have the means of production, and human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/for-their-never-ending-endeavours-to-obtain-or-retain-wealth/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [“Listen! The court jester's cap and bells. The King is coming!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ljupka-cvetanova/listen-the-court-jester-s-cap-and-bells-the-king-is-coming/) [Ljupka Cvetanova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ljupka-cvetanova/) > [“An expensive coffin does not decrease the deceased’s chances of going to hell.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/an-expensive-coffin-does-not-decrease-the-deceased-s-chances-of-going/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [“The eleventh commandment of art: thou shalt not be boring.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-m-driscoll/the-eleventh-commandment-of-art-thou-shalt-not-be-boring/) [W.M. Driscoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-m-driscoll/) > [A journal takes the place of a confidant, that is, of friend or wife; it becomes a substitute for production, a substitute for country…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-journal-takes-the-place-of-a-confidant-that-is-of-friend-or-wife-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“A premature death does not only rob one of the countless instances where one would have experienced pleasure, it also saves one from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/a-premature-death-does-not-only-rob-one-of-the-countless-instances/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [“The real purpose of the opposition is to minimize the amount of money the ruling party will have stolen from the people at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/the-real-purpose-of-the-opposition-is-to-minimize-the-amount-of-money/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [“I played the best role in my life. I had a great director.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ljupka-cvetanova/i-played-the-best-role-in-my-life-i-had-a-great-director/) [Ljupka Cvetanova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ljupka-cvetanova/) > [“Be ware! Santa Claus is a fake profile.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ljupka-cvetanova/be-ware-santa-claus-is-a-fake-profile/) [Ljupka Cvetanova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ljupka-cvetanova/) > [“He who lies and steals ...and forms a government.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ljupka-cvetanova/he-who-lies-and-steals-and-forms-a-government/) [Ljupka Cvetanova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ljupka-cvetanova/) > [“I got married. A bright past is ahead of me!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ljupka-cvetanova/i-got-married-a-bright-past-is-ahead-of-me/) [ljupka Cvetanova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ljupka-cvetanova/) > [“People who smile while they are alone used to be called insane, until we invented smartphones and social media.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/people-who-smile-while-they-are-alone-used-to-be-called-insane-until/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [“Why must an aphorism be brief? Because only a fool gives a speech in a burning house.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-geary/why-must-an-aphorism-be-brief-because-only-a-fool-gives-a-speech-in-a/) [James Geary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-geary/) > [How many of us have been attracted to reason; first learned to think, to draw conclusions, to extract a moral from the follies of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/how-many-of-us-have-been-attracted-to-reason-first-learned-to-think/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 399 Aphorism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aphorism/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "My best definition of a nerd: someone who asks you to explain an aphorism", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Nassim Nicholas Taleb" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/my-best-definition-of-a-nerd-someone-who-asks-you-to-explain-an/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Aphorism" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/my-best-definition-of-a-nerd-someone-who-asks-you-to-explain-an/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/593/nassim-nicholas-taleb-352_aphorism_my-best-definition-of-a-nerd-someone-who_2872694.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/593/nassim-nicholas-taleb-352_aphorism_my-best-definition-of-a-nerd-someone-who_2872694.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/593/nassim-nicholas-taleb-352_aphorism_my-best-definition-of-a-nerd-someone-who_2872694.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“My best definition of a nerd: someone who asks you to explain an aphorism” — Nassim Nicholas Taleb", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Nassim Nicholas Taleb", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "My best definition of a nerd:...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/my-best-definition-of-a-nerd-someone-who-asks-you-to-explain-an/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/my-best-definition-of-a-nerd-someone-who-asks-you-to-explain-an/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```