Help me name my nerdly gathering society.

November 14, 2007 12:23 PM

What would be a good name for a group of nerds that gathers monthly to trade lectures? Kind of like a salon for geeks.

I'm organizing a group where people gather once a month and give each other presentations on interesting topics like quantum physics, neurochemistry, literature, music, and so on. I was part of a similar (now defunct) group that had a terrible name. They called themselves PoS (for obscure reasons), and everyone was quick to point out the obvious joke about the name.

I need a catchy name for my group, one that rolls off the tongue. A friend suggested "TMI", which I thought was great, but I can't think of anything really excellent for TMI to stand for. (Teaching, Meeting, Interacting? Trading Mucho Information? Lame.)

I'm not particularly attached to TMI, so all kinds of suggestions are welcome!

posted by agropyron to grab bag (41 comments total)

Heard Nerd or Nerd Heard?

Trippy Monthly Information
posted by never used baby shoes at 12:28 PM on November 14, 2007

How about the New Royal Society? The original Royal society was a similar group of nerds.
posted by cosmicbandito at 12:37 PM on November 14, 2007

ETC
(eclectic thinking collective)
posted by and hosted from Uranus at 12:39 PM on November 14, 2007

"A Trivial Pursuit"
posted by chrisamiller at 12:39 PM on November 14, 2007

Nerdus

A herd or gathering of nerds.

ie: look at the Nerdus in the AV room.

alternate meaning: Nerds are us.
posted by kanemano at 12:40 PM on November 14, 2007

the pocket protectors
posted by parmanparman at 12:45 PM on November 14, 2007

Societas Eruditorum
posted by fidelity at 12:47 PM on November 14, 2007

Information Peeps.

"Hey, want to go see a movie tonight?"
"I can't; I have a meeting with the Information Peeps."
"You and those darned Information Peeps. Every week, it's something new with your precious Information Peeps. What do those peeps have to offer that's so great, anyway?"
"Information."
posted by Greg Nog at 12:49 PM on November 14, 2007 [2 favorites]

There's a lecture series in Toronto that sounds similar. It's called "Trampoline Hall". (warning: annoying website)
posted by sevenyearlurk at 12:51 PM on November 14, 2007

You could be an affiliate chapter of Nerd Nite.
posted by enfa at 12:54 PM on November 14, 2007

How about The Brain Trust - sounds snarky to outsiders, but cool to those in the know!

For TMI - Too Much Intellect, The Magnificent Intellectuals
posted by odi.et.amo at 12:54 PM on November 14, 2007

I'm gonna have to go for the Futurama reference and suggest "Brainspawn."

Or "Nerdaissance."

Or "SoL II: Electric Boogaloo"

But "TMI" is good. It doesn't have to stand for anything. In fact, it might be more fun if it can stand for anything.
posted by kindall at 1:00 PM on November 14, 2007

The Invisible College.
posted by drezdn at 1:04 PM on November 14, 2007

But "TMI" is good. It doesn't have to stand for anything.

If anyone asks you what it stands for, you can always say, "I'm sorry, that would be too much information."
posted by Metroid Baby at 1:04 PM on November 14, 2007 [2 favorites]

TMI and ETC remind me of TED. Which might not be a bad thing.
posted by Kadin2048 at 1:05 PM on November 14, 2007

Porn 'n Chicken
posted by junkbox at 1:05 PM on November 14, 2007

TMI: "TMI Meeting of Intellectuals"
posted by signal at 1:06 PM on November 14, 2007

BYOB: Bring Your Own Brain.
posted by signal at 1:07 PM on November 14, 2007

TAS (The Acronym Society)
posted by contessa at 1:18 PM on November 14, 2007

Interested Parties
posted by kuujjuarapik at 1:23 PM on November 14, 2007

Nergy. An orgy for nerds. ( I cant take credit for that one tho)
posted by ian1977 at 1:29 PM on November 14, 2007

NIC: Nerds in Conversation
(though technically it's not really conversation...)

This reminds me of TED, which stands for Technology, Engineering, Design. Too bad that's taken. TED attendees are called TEDsters, so maybe you can call yourselves NICkies or NICksters or some other collective term, I guess...
posted by kureshii at 1:34 PM on November 14, 2007

MeFi

kidding, how about:

The Spielers
Emcee Hawks (regionally appropriate?)
posted by Benjamin Nushmutt at 1:37 PM on November 14, 2007

CLASS: Colloquia, Lectures and... Smart Stuff
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 1:55 PM on November 14, 2007

oooh Colloquia, Lectures and Smartypants Salon
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 1:56 PM on November 14, 2007

I am a member of such a group which is called the Monday Evening Club. It has been continually active since 1869. (As such, it is an all-male society, but that could change one of these years.) We have 14 members, and we meet 7 times a year, always on a Monday evening. Each member hosts a meeting (dinner at home or a restaurant) one year, and presents a paper the next year. After dinner, the paper is read and then discussed (with the host moderating the discussion). When the host decides everyone has had his say, the reader of the paper get time to rebut any comments made. Then everyone gets up to leave (which is nice -- there is a defined end to the evening, no interminable chitchat). Topics are not announced in advance (although cryptic titles of the papers are), so as not to allow anyone to bone up on the subject in advance and upstage the presenter.

Apparently, during the 1800s a lot of these self-improvement societies were formed, and many of them were named after the evening they met. A few have survived to the present. I know of two other Monday Evening Clubs, both also started in 1869. One of them is the Hartford CT club, of which Mark Twain was a member (Google "Twain Monday Evening Club"). There was also, in an earlier century in Britain, something called the Lunar Society, with many famous names in it, so called because they met when the moon was full so they could find their way home at night.

One of our members said once that what he liked about the club was that it didn't do any good. Dues are $5 a year for the secretary to mail out meeting notices (we don't do email yet), and to send flowers when somebody's in the hospital. As you may gather, we're on the geezerly side, although we've been trying to perpetuate the organization by getting in some younger members, with reasonable success. So I congratulate you on looking to start up a club like this from scratch. If you'd like any more info, MeFi mail me.
posted by beagle at 2:09 PM on November 14, 2007 [8 favorites]

You are an academy.

So I would call it the such-and-such academy of somewhere-or-other (swap in terms as required..
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen at 2:11 PM on November 14, 2007

Related events:

http://cafescientifique.org/
http://barcamp.org/
And of course TED.
posted by cmiller at 2:37 PM on November 14, 2007

also see dorkbot.
posted by fishfucker at 2:41 PM on November 14, 2007

Frank Exchange.
posted by flabdablet at 4:09 PM on November 14, 2007

Gique Clinique

(Geek Clinic)

Although I like the more plain-sounding "academy" and "Monday night club" names.
posted by amtho at 4:25 PM on November 14, 2007

Point Dexterous
Boffin Bay
Algonquin : Round Table :: Seattle : The Longhouse
Learned Hands
Fifth Column
Swap Meet, Amadeus
Hyperceph Alley
Surfeit Of Knowledge Society Fiends
posted by rob511 at 4:34 PM on November 14, 2007

The Cacophony of Cool
posted by Mr_Crazyhorse at 5:17 PM on November 14, 2007

I hope you avoid the nerd/geek/dork references and stick with a classical-sounding name, as being scholarly is a noble thing. I'd love to have a group like this. Personally I hope the words nerd and geek retire from the English language - I know its no longer an insult, but I still hate it. A debate/study society that values the hard work and dedication that goes into higher and specialized learning deserves a title that will reflect on its goals in a positive manner.
posted by Deep Dish at 5:34 PM on November 14, 2007

The Algonquin Square Table.
posted by BrotherCaine at 7:01 PM on November 14, 2007

What's wrong with "Geek Salon"?

Some of these other suggestions are much better, but I couldn't let the obvious go unspoken.
posted by ErWenn at 7:14 PM on November 14, 2007

More obscure, but fitting: alizé.
posted by BrotherCaine at 7:50 PM on November 14, 2007

Classically speaking, if you read together, you are a collegium. If you speak together, you are a colloquium. If you eat together, you are either a company (Latin) or a sycophancy (Greek). If you drink together you are a symposium. But Plato's Symposium had plenty of speechifying in between the drinks, after all.
posted by eritain at 10:02 PM on November 14, 2007 [2 favorites]

"TMI Meets Infrequently"?

Or you could just call it "Too Much Information".
posted by panic at 10:29 PM on November 14, 2007

Thanks for all the suggestions! You've given me much to ponder. Deep Dish, I will be avoiding the nerd/geek references in the name I choose. (My own fault for having them in the question, I suppose.)
posted by agropyron at 9:29 AM on November 15, 2007

The pansophic sodality?
posted by history is a weapon at 12:38 PM on November 19, 2007 [1 favorite]