[happytoexplain]

I was surprised to see it - I thought "boffin" was good-natured but highly irreverent, like "nerd". But I can't imagine any publication writing the headline, "Computer nerd claims Microsoft's supposed quantum leap does not compute."

[wiml]

"Good natured but highly irreverent" is pretty much The Register's house style.

[gh02t]

To be fair, "boffin" usually implies someone has relevant (usually scientific) expertise, but nerd doesn't. Henry Legg has the relevant credentials to give weight to his claims, he's not just some random basement nerd.

[SAI_Peregrinus]

The Register is highly irreverent, as a rule.

[cpncrunch]

It's typical of the Register. They always use the word "boffin" for expert/scientist. It's a british word used to describe a clever person.

[MobiusHorizons]

Roughly interchangeable with egg head I think, although more used and slightly more endearing.

[KineticLensman]

Used in WW2 to refer to radar engineers, bouncing bomb designers etc