The stereotypical image of the “Nerd” – the Star Trek-loving math wizard who’s all thumbs socially — may be one of the last remaining prejudices that’s still considered fair game in our American culture. Our guest, David Anderegg, is a psychotherapist who works with kids and teaches psychology at Bennington College. He’s also the author of a new book titled, “Nerds: Who They Are and Why we Need More of Them.” Anderegg says pre-teen ridicule of kids labeled as nerds may be doing serious harm, not just to individuals, but to our country. (Listen)
Also in the program, plans for a long-anticipated ski village at the base of Killington took a step backward last week when the developer withdrew the project from the town planning process. We talk with Rutland Herald business rditor Bruce Edwards about what it all means. (Listen)
And we get a sneak preview of what could be the future of publishing: the Espresso Book Machine at Manchester’s Northshire Bookstore is capable of producing a high quality trade paperback book in minutes. It’s one of only five in the world. VPR’s Nina Keck shows us how it works. (Listen)
Photo: A group of self-described "nerds" in a Silicon Valley robotics competition. AP Photo by George Nikitin.
Photo: Chris Morrow of Northshire Bookstore with the Espresso Book Machine.
VPR Photo by Nina Keck.
Email from listeners
Rob in Pomfret
There seems to be a fair amount of
evidence that exposure of young children to video games, television, even
computers, may lead to an increase in attention deficit disorders, anxiety,
stress, and depression.
This might lead to a tension between trying to
encourage a child’s nerd-like inclinations and trying to protect their mental
health. Rob in Pomfret
Lucy from Middlebury
I am amazed at how in our culture it is socially acceptable or even desirableto tell people that you are "bad at numbers" or "don’t have a head for math". No one would ever say in a social setting "oh, I can’t read" or "words – they all look alike."
Doug from Underhill I have been listening to the show on Nerds, with David Anderegg. I thought that you or Dr. Anderegg might be amused by a music project that my adult sons completed centering around their passions for dungeons and dragons. The linkis a one of the songs from the cd called Geekish Tendencies which is a tongue-in-cheek look at geeks. The singer is #2 son. You might alsobe interested to learn that #1 son, who wrote, performed on and produced thiscd was, along with my brother-in-law a sound editor for the Star Trek Seriesand many of the movies. Feel free to share this with Dr. Anderegg if you thinkhe would be amused as well. If there is merit, I can probably chase down thehttp://www.keithrvarney.com/media/06_Geekish.mp3 Sharon from Waterbury Center
Thanks for your relevant discussion on nerds. I was a
caller who didn’t make it in time and was then encouraged to email you my
comments so here goes:
I jokingly call myself a nerd because I do not fit the
stereotype. I have a 2 degrees in engineering from top schools and
have worked as an engineer for many years. My husband has a similar
background and we have done very well in our careers, which our two handsome
teenage sons have grown to appreciate. Both of our sons
are star athletes and have no trouble getting girls. My oldest is
now playing hockey and lacrosse for MIT while majoring in materials
science engineering. My younger son aspires to study civil engineering at
Cornell and play demanding D1 lacrosse.
My husband and I encouraged our sons to be nerdier in their
formative years. We worried that it would not be cool to be
smart. We pointed out as your caller Robin said, "Geeks rule
the world" citing Bill Gates as a hero, and that with a technical
background they would best be prepared for the technically
dominate future.
The crux move came while signing up for high
school classes in the spring of 8th grade. At first my oldest
accepted the notion that he should take all honors classes, but then after
being chided by some of his peers came home questioning this. I responded
simply "because you belong there". Quickly he realized it
was the right move and found it fun to be challenged. When this
time came for our younger son who was not as strong of a student and I
worried that all honors would be too much for him, he came home one day
and proudly said he wanted to take all honors having seen his brother’s
experience. The next day he sheepishly asked me not to tell anyone that
he had said this.
I hope our experience encourages parents of younger children
to point out the advantages of being nerdy and that it is fun to challenge
oneself intellectually as well athletically.
Ed from West Pawlet
A data point: I was called a nerd in a South Jersey high school inthe 1961-62 school year. Jeremy from DanvilleIt seems that everything is being dumbed down. I recently took a
CPR/First Aid course and I questioned many of the processes in the course thatdifferered from when I had taken it back in the early 90’s. I didn’t think itwas that hard in the 90’s and it was much mor detailed. The course instructorsaid that the Red Cross course had been dumbed down for the masses. Why do we knowingly dumb everything down even though we know it is a disservice to oursociety?