Bri is a Nerd

I decided today that I’m probably the biggest nerd I’ve ever met. I have this odd obsession with always learning and feel pretty terrible and bored if I just sit around and let my brain rot for too long. Don’t get me wrong... I’m all for occasional Family Guy and Gilmore Girls gushy brain relaxers. But, that can only go on for a few hours before I’m bored again.

So, I’ll share what makes Bri an ubernerd.

• I stumbled upon this a few weeks ago and got super excited. I don’t actually watch the videos, but you can download the audio on iTunes (its a podcast, you have to search a wee bit, but its there) and I’ve been putting it on my iPod as I take walks and make the drive down to Glen Ellyn for church. I just finished the Intro Psych (I haven’t taken a psych class since high school... I figured this was a sad thing) and am moving onto the Game Theory. I’m pretty sure this is something that I did learn at Taylor... but the class it would have been covered in (Principles of Macroeconomics) blended in really well with A Man for All Seasons. There are other interesting ones on there that I’m going to download and listen to in order to fill in the gaps in my education.
• Aparently, it is amusing to have checked out The Canterbury Tales, Critique of Pure Reason, Nicomachean Ethics, and The Wealth of Nations and have them sitting in your bedroom waiting to be read (Lord of the Rings still needs to be finished). I actually have reasons for all of these. I feel like Canterbury Tales is referenced in a lot of things... but I’ve never read any part of it, so the references are completely lost. Sometimes, I swear, I grew up in a box... or a cornfield. The Kant reading goes back to my favorite answer I’ve ever given on a test. I took a class in business ethics and about five minutes before I left my apartment to take an exam, I was asked what Kant’s categorical imperative was. I did the fastest skim of everything I had because I had no idea and gave a really crappy answer to this person. Also, a few minutes before that, I was in my freezer to get a popsicle and I saw my roommate’s frozen Reese’s cups. Now, being allergic to peanuts and loving those little candies... I wanted them. It was definitely on my mind. When I get to class and start looking at that exam, guess what question was on there? You guessed it, Kant’s categorical imperative. So, I wrote some paragraph saying how it was good for my roommate to eat Reese’s, but not me. Basically, the whole point was “I want Reese’s cups.” We get the exam back, guess who got higher points: me with Reese’s cups or my boyfriend who had actually kind of explained what it was? Yup, score one for peanut butter cravings. My reason for Aristotle is... well... he’s Aristotle. Kind of an important guy. Same for Smith. All I know of him is his “Invisible Hand” concept. I feel like I should know a lot more about that. Also, I must admit where some of the ideas for books to read are coming from. There is this college in Santa Fe and Annapolis that doesn’t do the whole “pick your major and take classes in that area”, but rather they read books and its supposed to really just work on your thinking skills and stuff like that. I was actually a wee bit tempted by that one when I was looking at colleges... probably just because it was so unique. But, they have their reading lists up online... and I figure that is one starting place of finding books to read. I also just learned they have a joint JD program with the University of Maryland... get a Masters of Liberal Arts and a J.D... interesting.
• I follow more blogs and random people on Twitter than anyone I know. Granted, I don’t ask people about their habits, but still. I enjoy reading a lot of articles posted and various things people are saying. I kind of like to gain more information from these sources than what my friends are currently doing... although that is good too. I feel like I should start posting more important things on there... to contribute to the conversation rather than just being a free-rider. Ohhh... and I also have a love of subscribing to newspapers... I think my total is five. Yeah, that seems right.