Engineering students == Nerds??

Last week I was on my way home. Most of the branches( actually all except Comp Sci) had planned trips for the weekend. As we didn't have any trip, I decided to head home. And this time I was alone, and so I carried a book to read during the journey.
After a few stops and half a bottle of pepsi, three guys, in their 30s, came and sat opposite me. I gave them a smile and continued reading the book. For most of the time, they were discussing something about their work and also about politics, from what I overheard.
About 2 hours passed. And then I heard one of them ask "Are you an engineering student?" I lifted my head to find all three of them looking at me. I told them that I was. He then looked at his friends and gave them a didnt-i-tell-you smile. I wondered how he understood. I wasn't wearing any t-shirt with the college' name on it. So I asked him. He told me that it was because I was studying for such a long time!! I couldnt help laughing. I showed them the cover page. The guy sitting to his right read, "A Thousand Splendid Suns.... Oh! Its a novel!"
LOL.
They too smiled (the friends of the guy who asked me smiled more than him this time) and then we continued with what we were doing earlier.
But what made him think that engineering students studied all the time! This is the first time I am hearing such a comment about engineering students! One visit to our hostel during the exam time would surely change all his misconceptions. It would have made more sense if he had asked if I was a medical student. Or maybe not. Nerds are there in every college. And there are lazy guys too. You can find people of every type in all the colleges; irrespective of the stream. The college or branch has nothing to do with how much time one spends on studies!
And yes, the book is really good. Khaled Hosseini writes about challenges and attrocities faced by Afghani women especially in the late 20th century; written beautifully and in simple english. The author was able to keep me reading until the train stopped at Mangalore station.
PS: Again... Engineers are not nerds!
Any engineering student out there, who would like to comment on this? ;)