Somewhere along the way, “nerd” went from playground insult to job description... but a lot of us still downplay the parts of ourselves that are the most obsessively, wonderfully nerdy. In this talk, we’re going to unapologetically flip that script.

We’ll look at how the same traits that once made us feel “too much” or “too weird”. Things like our deep focus, hyper-specific interests, overthinking the edge cases, caring about fictional universes a little too intensely. These are exactly what make us powerful technologists. I’ll share stories about how leaning into my nerdiest instincts led to better business decisions, caught issues before they became a problem, and made collaboration a lot more honest and fun.

This session is part confession, part love letter to the weird kids who grew up on the internet and then started writing it. You’ll leave with a more intentional way to use your own nerdiness as a tool: to communicate better with your team, design more thoughtful systems, and build products that feel like they were made by real humans who care way too much—in the best possible way.