A 'nerd' shoots for the stars, and NASA comes knocking

Re:A 'nerd' shoots for the stars, and NASA comes knocking by endtime on Friday May 08, 2009 @01:51PM (#599971)

Well...I think globeandmail's audience is probably more general and therefore more interested in character stuff more than academic papers. If someone gets interviewed on G4 they get asked what video games they play, whether or not they are known as gamers, and he's not asked that here either.

Also, it seems Eric needs to work on communication/social skills:

“Dude, you won a space station contest!” one girl said. “That's huge!” “Space colony,” Mr. Yam corrected.

By Thursday, the news had sunk in. “It's great,” he said. “Finally some recognition.”

Sounds like a smart guy though.

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Re:A 'nerd' shoots for the stars, and NASA comes knocking by scott_s on Friday May 08, 2009 @03:32PM (#600120)

He might have made those comments in a socially appropriate way - by joking. It sounded to me like the author already decided "antisocial nerd" and fished for ways to make him fit.

And if he is an antisocial nerd with poor social skills, I don't see any reason to point it out in the article - it's certainly not going to help him. Saying he's never had a girlfriend isn't just patronizing, it's embarassing. Why even mention it?

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Re:A 'nerd' shoots for the stars, and NASA comes knocking by endtime on Friday May 08, 2009 @05:39PM (#600283)

Well, other than being slightly embarassing (if he even cares) to a bunch of people he will never meet, it could also get the attention of a nice nerdy girl looking for a 16 year old who designs space colonies.

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