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Nerd's the Word
From pocket protectors to Klingon as a second language, the stereotype of the nerd is firmly embedded in American culture. But how realistic is it? And don't nerds--creators of the Internet, inventors of the smartphone--really rule the world? Benjamin Nugent, author of American Nerd: The Story of My People, talks about his tribe.
Event
Benjamin Nugent is reading tonight at 7PM at the Half King (505 West 23rd Street).
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Comments
to say they rule the world is a bit much.
I would think of them as a modern priest class steering the rulers where the 'nerds' think we should be
This is a great book. Highly recommended.
I would like to hear Mr. Nugent talk about the difference between a nerd and a geek, or if there really is one. Thank you.
Whats with this guys disaffected California jaded accent?
The linking of Asians and Jewish people to "nerdiness" likely has more to do with emasculation and "otherness" more than anything.
This guy sounds like the poster boy for 'Stuff White People Like'.
I wonder if he lives in Williamsburg...has a scarf on today...and probably is going to an 'art opening' later this week.
Regretfully, the term has ceased to mean much with the rise of the millennials who appear to have come out of the womb with cell phones, ipods, wiis, etc.
Nerdiness is definitely associated with the pains of adolescence, even though many people never grow out of it. As a nerd who has "grown out" of that phase, Mr. Nugent, do you still consider yourself a nerd, somewhere deep down, or is it something you have completely left behind?
Newsweek used the word in 1951:
"In Detroit, someone who once would be called a drip or a square is now, regrettably, a nerd, or in a less severe case, a scurve."
And: is there any hope for the nerds, now that they have been subsumed by the hipsters?
Quick comment regarding social awkwardness: In "Hackers and Painters" (a great collection of essays), Paul Graham suggests that being popular in high school is a full-time job, and geeks prefer to spend their time pursuing their (obscure) interests instead.
"has a scarf on today."
LOL!
4 & 6...u'll are hilarious...this might be an interesting read....
It was a bit chilly this morning, would you blame him?
I am curious about the science-orientation fo nerds. It is rare to see, say, an Art History nerd, or, say, a classical music nerd (although they do exist). The classical geek is into the mechanics of science and math -- right-brained. It seems as if there are avenues of celebrity, wealth and power open to nerds -- video gaming, for example -- that were not open to previous generations. I was wonmdering if your guest could speak to that with reference to CP Snow's influential/controversial essay on "The Two Cultures."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Two_Cultures
hipsters are artsy they are not nerds
Are all social outcasts nerds? If not, what are the differences among the different types of outcasts?
1950 Nerd, a character in If I Ran the Zoo, by Theodor Seuss Geisel (dr seuss.)
as a 'former female nerd', i've noticed how many women think that having read a lot as a child makes them 'nerds'(they are 'wanna-be nerds).
i had to make difficult and serious efforts to learn social skills on top of learning how to dress in order to function 'in a work force'.
for a woman it's nothing to desire as far as i'm concerned. it's easier for a man because there are more of them. i wish women knew this and they'd quit wanting to claim to have been tomboys and nerds because it's in vogue.
If people are self-aware enough to dress like nerds, doesn't that automatically mean that they are NOT nerds? (They just dress poorly.) Just say no to nerd posing. By the way, there are plenty of engineers and scientists that are both cool and popular. Be yourself people. We've taken their lunch money, let's not co-opt their sytle too!
Interesting topic, since I'm a nerd/geek/fanboy myself. I'm also African-American, which brings into the aspect of racial stereotypes. Is nerdiness only for Jewish and Asians males (look at films like "Juno" and "Welcome to The Dollhouse")? Does being black and nerdy makes you less "an Oreo"(I was called when I was in high school, and recently wrote a screenplay about my teenage experiences, BTW).
I think Mr. Nugent should be a little more interested in the diversity of nerds/geeks/fanboys/spazs.
He is interested in it, 21. His dungeon master growing up was black, and he writes about his life story in the book.
Is there a connection between nerds and Asperger's Syndrome?
Does Benjamin actually fit the mold?:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/andrewcoulterenright/4103975/
there does seem to be a trend where people today who are smart and passionate about something, books for example, that is not shallow or in the main-stream self depricate themselves. i find it ridiculous that these people put themselves down if they are not into pot smoking or drinking or wearing the right clothes. they are the ones who should be exhalted by society, the ones who are actually doing something with their time and their lives. people shouldn't be saying, i'm a book-nerd, they should be saying i'm a pot-loser
Listen to his pronunciations he says " brens" for "brains."
You mean to tell me that they are black "nerds"? wow i thought they all dressed and acted the same. I think this need to label people needs to stop, since nerd is too much of a general term, that really needs to be broken down into different categories. I love reading books, and i am really into the arts and such, does that make me a nerd? or do i have to attend star wars conferences in order to be labeled as such.
"Weird Al" Yankovic - White & Nerdy
http://youtube.com/watch?v=-xEzGIuY7kw
Hey 15, there are definitely non-science nerds -- I'm a book nerd myself. To me it means being obsessed with something at the expense of the detachment/self presentation necessary for coolness -- and it's liberating to admit it. But as Ben suggests, maybe I'm just trying to defend myself against charges of trendiness... though the bookish nerd has been around a long time.
I wonder sometimes if the stereotype of white, middle-class, D&D playing, comic book reading, computer savvy male being nearly synomonous with the culture of nerdiness is a reflection of American male WASP influenced society. Being different can be a disadvantage while growing up. Many of the pursuits identified with nerdiness is a type of escapism, but society will still pressure some people to shun these pursuits if they don't fit the stereotype. There can even be some elitism within nerd circles.
How does gender inflect the notion of the nerd? There seems to be a particular strain of nerd-dom that surfaced in the 90s as part of an "alternative" culture that self-identified itself as "other" than what high school notions of cool might be. The problem w/ this form of identification, however, is that the terms are too rooted in an adolescent ethos that fails to extend and/or evolve w/ age. It also does strange things to other facets of adulthood (sexuality, maturity, etc.).
Comic book culture and the thick Buddy Holly-style glasses have become fashion tags, which has much less to do w/ the alienation that comes along w/ a high school experience of nerdiness, than a new form of packaging that says "I am unique, yet misunderstood" or "my passions really go against the grain."
I'm nerdy by nature and proud of it, currently using my powers for good and profit (www.wordnerdeditorial.com)! I think more people should embrace their gifts fearlessly.
Good point, 27.
I agree that nerds are responsible for much of modern suffering. Look at Henry Kissinger, Milton Friedman, Paul Wolfowitz, Jeffrey Sachs... all people who were brilliant in particular ways, but totally blind to their own lack of compassion and to the human consequences of their actions.
Do other culures have "nerds"? Ben mentions nerd culture as a "machine age" phenomenon; however, one caller referred to herself as a "book nerd" (passionatly focused on books). Having listened to the previous segment, it sounds lke Bobby Valentine is now in "heaven" in that he is coaching a group of gifted athletes who are also baseball "nerds". Were Christian saints of the middle ages "Christ nerds". Passionate focus (brilliance not necessary per se) + lack of emotional connection to other humans + machines / science = post enlightenment nerd.
Let's not forget the old Ivy League kiss of death / un-coolness term "weenie".
This thread is closed.
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