Nerd Cat

Observed most often at the edge of a conversation, the Nerd Cat waits for the precise moment a statement goes slightly wrong. The whiskers twitch. The finger rises. What follows is technically correct, which he considers the finest kind of correct.

He has read the whitepaper. He has read the footnotes of the whitepaper. He has read the paper the footnotes cite, and he found a typo on page four that he will mention now, and again later, and possibly in his sleep.

He does not argue to win. He argues because a comma was out of place and someone had to say something.

Nerd Cat with a pointer — **Fig. 3.** Mid-lecture, gesturing at a diagram only he can see.

Field notes describe a creature of small stature and enormous certainty. He owns exactly one pair of glasses and behaves as though they came with tenure. When unsure, he is silent. He is rarely silent.

Researchers agree on a single point: whatever you were about to say, he already knew, and he has notes.