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A2 + B2 = “Cool” for New York’s Nerd Crowd

There is a nerd inside of every New Yorker that is dying to get out. The good news is that nerdiness has become hip enough to warrant its own night in the uber-trendy East Village.

Self-styled nerds whose obsessions range from batting averages to Christ imagery in Michael Jackson music videos gathered in the East Village’s Angel’s & Kings to hear two of their own talk about the subversiveness of cold war comic books and the possibility of building robots with human-like nerve responses.

“It’s a way for people to kind of get out of their jobs, drink a lot and get back to the things that drive them,” said Matt Wissotsky, the chairman of Nerd Nite NYC.

The event, which started three years ago in Boston, has grown from a small group of Cambridge PhD candidates to become one of the city’s most unusual scenes. Instead of disk jockeys spinning remixes of the latest hits, these nerds ply each other with questions about the origins of 19th century “whisper trains,” and debate the uselessness of daylight savings time. Alcohol, however, is still served.

Though the event sounds like a visit to a parallel reality where “coolness” is solely a function of intellect, even non-nerds were lured in.

“We walk by this place every night and obviously something very interesting and very engaging is taking place here,” said Renee Lesson and her husband Paulino Aboitiz. Though not a nerd himself, Angels & Kings’ manager, Dennis McLynn, is happy to have nerds come once a month.

“It’s a good crowd,” McLynn said. “We have people lined down the block to get in sometimes.”

Some crowded around the presenters as Nerd Nite wound down. Others started their walk home a little tipsy and a little smarter.

“It’s good to be a nerd for a night,” Lesson said.

Byline: Carl Winfield

About Nerd Nite:

Nerd Nite occurs once a month and brings nerds and their friends together over beer.

Related Links:

Nerd Nite NYC

Nerd Nite Boston