Nerd Processor
Confessions of a 40-Year-Old Mega-Nerd
I have gotten old, but I have somehow failed to grow up
It happens every day. Like so many fortysomethings who aren’t interested in having a heart attack and dying just yet, I take a pill to combat my high blood pressure. Unlike many of my peers, however, when I take this pill at the desk in my home office, I do so while surrounded by action figures. Rey from The Force Awakens. Soundwave from Transformers. He-Man and She-Ra. A small horde of characters from Japanese kids’ TV shows. I have gotten old, but I have somehow failed to grow up.
This is my life, but I can’t wrap my head around it. At age 41, I still play video games, regularly watch cartoons, and buy toys and collectibles based on movies and shows I enjoyed when I was six. The fact that I am a nerd at this age feels wholly unnatural, despite the fact I’ve never stopped being one. I’ve even parlayed this nerdiness into an almost 20-year career writing about nerd stuff, most recently as the editor of io9, Gizmodo’s site devoted to pop culture.
The fact that I am a nerd at this age feels wholly unnatural, despite the fact I’ve never stopped being one.
