Growing up in the 70s and 80s, it took effort to be a nerd. You had to seek out the nerd stuff.

When you hang around a lot of comedians long enough, you realize there's a certain gene, in every comedian. It's why we get hyper-analytical about things.

Like lycanthropy, the nerd gene can skip a generation. My maternal grandfather was a technophile.

As someone who's very nerd-minded, whenever I see a lot of cross-platform stuff when I get bonus material on either side, then it makes me want to dive deeper, sort of like tearing apart the different pieces of the pie.

I played tournament chess from fifth grade up into high school.

Do you think Patrick Swayze now goes up behind people in pottery classes and hugs them just to crack up other ghosts?

It's very easy to attack ourselves. Even comforting in its familiarity, but you must resist this urge at all costs. Dwelling on the past or your perceived flaws will do nothing but keep you under emotional house arrest and hamper your progress. Commit yourself to growth and reward yourself with kindness for choosing to do so!