Nerds: Who They Are and Why We Need More of Them
by David Anderegg, Ph.D.
This title caught my eye at a booksale I went to. It's the first non-fiction essay I've read in a while, but I have to say that the topic was what drew me to pick it up. A book about nerds? That sounded fascinating.
The writer introduces a series of questions: exactly what sort of qualities constitutes a nerd? What's the difference between a nerd and a geek? How prevalent is the nerd stereotype in our American culture? Is the stereotype of "nerdiness" affecting the children of America in a negative way?
The author's voice is approachable and reader-friendly. Despite the social psychology aspects of this topic, he rarely uses professional jargons or long, winded-out sentences and makes sure to define and reiterate any potentially confusing ideas. So if I didn't understand something the first time I read it, I move on; nine times out of ten, he repeats it in a slightly different sentence format that helps get the point across.
This book raised a lot of inner questions for me. My first reaction after completing the first chapter was to ask myself: is the nerd persecution of elementary and middle schools of America really as bad as he makes it out to be? Because when reading this book, it's pretty bad. Kids are being driven to depression, self-denial, loss of identity, and all sorts of social problems because they are being labelled as "nerds" by other kids. The author also points out some correlations between the decline of interest in math and science of middle schoolers, and the increasing phenomenon of nerdism among those students. Though he refrains from declaring the thesis outright, there is an implication here that essentially, children's desires not to be labelled as a nerd contribute to a decrease of interest in maths and sciences...because maths and sciences are nerdy.
I can't say anything as a representative of any pool of nerds, but as a studious type of student myself, who posts book reviews on my very own blog in my spare time, I'd say that I may also fall into the nerd category. And the persecution was never as bad as how this book describes it. Perhaps the majority of the children he interviewed/sampled for his research happened to be kids suffering problems as a nerd. Perhaps he didn't get a lot of kids coming into his office to declare: "I'm a nerd and I'm proud of it!" But in any case, I found myself wondering if this book is just slightly exaggerated.
But otherwise, it's an intellectual read, worth the several days I spent reading the results of Dr. Anderegg's social studies. I especially liked the advice to parents that he included in his conclusion. No matter what I may or may not think about nerd stereotypes after reading this book, it still gives some practical tips in how to help my future kids deal with such social problems, should the need arise. Better safe than sorry.
