The Nerd-Out
Justin Heazlewood, author, performer and Bedroom PhilosopherThis signal is a mash-up of two established gestures: air quotes and the Vulcan Salute – what Justin Heazlewood calls
“Spock’s version of a thumbs-up in Star Trek.” The Australian performer says you would use the Nerd-Out “whenever your
childlike euphoria for small details and trivia spills over, and you find yourself holding court about your Ph.D., computer
hacks, music gear purchases or other wilfully inaccessible topics – in my case: Star Trek: Voyager plotlines.” To activate,
first pull a “Vulcan howdy”: place your pinky and ring fingers together, as well as your index and middle fingers, to form a
‘V’ shape. (Your thumb should stick out on its own.) Then curl all three sets of appendages, as you would while making air
quotes. Use any time you’re met with a blank expression after discussing Borg/human relations at a party and need to
move on. A useful follow-up may include the phrase, “Sorry, what were we saying about the footy?”