Surrounded by nerds? I know the feeling. And I bet you are tired of not understanding what they are talking about. Fret no more, cool people of the world! Now you'll understand what the computer scientist, IT professional, or physicist in your life is talking about.
What? No, engineers are not nerds. We are very cool people. Yeah? Well, how about you make like Obi-Wan and disappear. Would a nerd say that?
Shit.
Transparent aluminum (slang) - a seemingly impossible technological advancement required for the completion of a project
Background: Like most things in the nerd universe, this slang term originates with Star Trek. Specifically, Star Trek IV: The Journey Home. That's the one with the space whales and the nuclear wessels. Scotty, the infinitely competent ship's engineer, convinces a modern-day contractor to build him a giant whale tank in exchange for the formula to "transparent aluminum".
James Doohan as Scotty. James Doohan is awesome. Don't take your nerd-hate out on him.
(By the way, have you ever considered what you would teach the people of the past in exchange for goods and services? I would teach them about either the internal combustion engine, or sarcasm.)
Usage:
Nerd #1: How are we ever going to make this work?
Nerd #2: Yeah, this is going to need some transparent aluminum.
The two nerds snort-laugh and attempt to high-five each other, but awkwardly miss. Then nerd #1 falls down a flight of stairs.
