Whilst in L.A. with J-cakes and his b-friend, we happened into one of our nation's top independent bookstores. I was on hot pursuit of a book I am a wee bit embarrassed to admit I wanted (big reveal later) but in my browsing I found a book by a Bennington prof named Dr. D. Anderegg titled "NERDS: Who They Are and Why We Need More of Them."
NERDS! Now there's a topic I can relate to, can sink my teeth into, and can rally around. NERDS! Why we need more of them: because, he posits, the nerd stereotype is so negative and damaging, it causes otherwise smart kids to do poorly in school and avoid excelling in math and science to avoid being marked a nerd. The USA is woefully behind other developed nations in test scores, math/science college grads, and therefore working doctors, engineers, and scientists. He also discusses the recent move to pathologize nerdiness as a mental illness, Asperger's being everyone's favorite armchair diagnosis du jour. My take on that is its a way for parents to dodge culpability when their kid starts acting "weird," i.e. not outgoing/athletic/popular; focused/obsessed/bookish. Rather than nurture their child's talents and let them be who they are, they cling to the possibility that their kid can be "cured" or at least excused, socially, because who wants to dog a kid who's sick?
Anyway, Dr. A goes into a lengthy diatribe about the American cultural tradition of anti-intellectualism (damn, I wish I would have known more about this in college--this would have made a great AmStud thesis topic) and how the USofA is about "men of action, not men of reflection.' Scholars are pussies, and nerdballs like Ichabod Crane have to be spooked out of town so the pretty maiden can marry the strong asshole and no one has to do anymore homework.
I'm enjoying the book immensely and have been considering my own pro-nerd/anti-nerd biases (though I like and respect all forms of scholarship, I tend to dislike gamers and/or men who wear tie-dye shirts tucked into UtiliKilts). Nerds come in different sizes, shapes, and flavors. Bob is a science/computer nerd and I'm a words/literature nerd, but we have come together to form what amounts to a diverse nerd supercouple. Who says nerds can't get laid or fall in love?
Posted by Zerd at January 21, 2008 03:50 PMyou didn't reveal the original embarrassing book you wanted.
Posted by: Amy! at January 22, 2008 04:14 PMI've heard the nerd stigma cited as one reason why boys lag behind girls in school these days (as girls may be ridiculed for nerdiness too, but not as harshly), tho right-wing nut jobs love to blame this phenomenon on "misguided feminism."
Posted by: margaret at January 23, 2008 12:53 PMTotally.
I love my nerdy boyfriend.
I agree, at least on most of it. Oprah was mentioning how we had gone to ranking 24th in the world on math scores or something like that. We have people wondering why that is. Gee, maybe it's because if you're too interested in math and too studious in certain subjects it's Asperger's according to shrinks and society in general. What kid wants to be known as having a social disability? By the way, when someone's young and an intelligent introvert, making a few flubs comes with the territory. It's not a pathology; it's not a genetic social retardation. People need to quit pathologizing nerdiness and leave the Bill Gateses of this world alone. Besides, people like Bill Gates are more successful than many of the people trying to label them will ever be. Maybe that should tell us something.
Posted by: Jennifer at October 28, 2008 11:39 AM