A nerd, by definition at least, is not a guy who has greasy hair, wears pocket protectors and plays Dungeons and Dragons every weekend.

You can call those guys geeks or dweebs or just plain losers - I don't really care - but let's reserve the word "nerd" for a different type of person.

A nerd is simply someone who has more knowledge than the average person, given that no one is truly the "average person," on a certain topic.

The topic itself doesn't matter. Take for instance someone who knows a lot of sports statistics. That person is a sports nerd. Then there are subgroups of sports nerds: baseball nerds, boxing nerds, curling nerds, shirtless ice-fishing nerds. In appearance, in most cases, sports nerds don't look like the stereotypical nerd; they generally look like normal people, perhaps even jockish. But their nerdity remains. If you've ever seen that ESPN show where the guys have two minutes to answer sports questions read by the sports legends like Isaiah Thomas (I think it's called The Show In Which Isaiah Thomas Tries to Read Really Quickly and It's Hilarious), the contestants are a good example of your sports nerds - and very knowledgeable ones at that.

Sometimes people refer to nerds as "aficionados," but don't let that throw you off. They're still nerds. Someone who knows a lot about wine? A wine nerd. And technically, that magazine for people who love and know bundles about cigars should be called Cigar Nerd. In all honestly, an aficionado is nothing but a nerd who can afford to be a nerd with very expensive areas of expertise.

Similarly, there are other nerds who like to present themselves as "elitists," like that guy at the record store who scoffs at you for not knowing who The Butter Band is, or the guy who's seen every Coen brothers movie and believes that it's wrong that you haven't. These are the guys that cannot stand that you actually liked XXX, the nerds that wear their nerdity like a badge. One that makes them better than you.

In light of this description, I hope that you're coming to terms with your nerdity. But now it's time to decide the degree of that nerdity.

On just how many different levels are you a nerd?

Take me, for instance. I'm one of the biggest nerds around (I mean, I'm even writing a newspaper column about it). I wear lots of different hats, but regardless of my headgear, I also am a nerd in many respects. I'm a comic book nerd, a movie nerd (an elitist in many cases, specifically comedy and horror), a '70s music nerd, a just plain academic nerd - and I could go on. I'm what's called a blanket nerd.

Other nerds perhaps just pride themselves on their knowledge of one or two areas - I'm going to venture that most people would be in this category - that are the "nerd-specifics."

I suppose I could be wrong. Maybe you're reading this and thinking, "This nerd is being ridiculous. How could he call me that?" And if I've labeled you with a misnomer, I deeply apologize.

But if I've enlightened you, if you've just now come to the realization that you are, indeed, a nerd, make yourself useful.

You shopping nerds out there let everyone know that, if they're looking for a place to pick up the best pair of cargo pants around, that they should come to you.

If you're a video game nerd, tell your friend who's thinking about picking up a new game for their Playstation 2 that Devil May Cry 2 is coming out pretty soon and that it's going to be awesome.

Embrace your nerdity.

And then think about how many times you just read the word "nerd."