Nerd Specializations: Culture Nerd

The guy who actually likes opera, knows why a Bordeaux can only come from a particular area of the planet, and can tell you the stylistic differences between paintings from different parts of Picasso's career: this is a culture nerd. The focus is on high culture, but can encompass any time period and anything from Brahms to bowling. Culture nerds can be snobs, although they aren't always, and their interest in art, theater and classical music isn't remotely pretentious. They don't care what people think of their preference for Bach over rock because they're thinking about the common themes running through Diego Rivera's murals and 1950s Hindi cinema. Cultural nerds prefer quiet art galleries, live theater and orchestral music, but they may also enjoy popular films that comment on society, music that mashes up genres as a social experiment, and lively political debate.