I’m kicking off the new year with the launch of a new feature, the book review. Unlike other book reviews, though, mine will focus on the word most central to each reviewed book and detail the author’s thoughts about that word. I chose to open this feature with Nerds: Who They Are and Why We Need More of Them (Nerds) for two reasons. First, it’s an amazingly well-written, useful book, and second, I am a nerd. At least I thought I was before I picked up this book, but more on that later.

Author (and nerd) David Anderegg, Ph.D. blames the country’s educational, social and economic stagnation on our communal dislike of people who are smart, specialized, interested in math and science, etc. From a very young age, he argues, we train our citizens to make fun of other kids based on the “nerd” stereotype. So much so, apparently, that many kids today choose pretending to be less smart/skilled over having their nerdiness diagnosed (as subsequently living through unpleasant social interactions).

There’s far too much goodness throughout Nerds to detail even half of Anderegg’s excellent points. Instead, I’ll share his definition of “nerd” with you and then highlight some of my favorite things about this book.

In chapter one of Nerds, “The Field Guide to Nerds, or, Why Nerds are so Gay,” Anderegg’s section, “Nerds and Geeks: Same or Different?” offers up some good definitions. Here’s an excerpt:

…What better place to turn for a definition of a folk concept than Wikipedia, the repository of all folk wisedom? Wikiepdia tells us that a nerd is ‘a stereotypical or archetypal designation.’ It ‘refers to somebody who passionately pursues intellectual or esoteric interests such as books and video games rather than having a social life, participating in organized sports or other mainstream activities.’ The Merriam-Webster definition is an ‘unstylish, unattractive, or socially inept person; especially: one slavishly devoted to intellectual or academic pursuits.’

… Geek self-tests are an awful lot like nerd self-tests:There is the emphasis on intelligence, technical knowledge, social awkwardness, and physical repulsiveness that adheres in both concepts.

… On the topic of differences between nerds and geeks, the Wiki says: … ‘Some view the geeks as a less technically skilled nerd. Others view the exact opposite. The lines between geek and nerd are often thin and ill-defined’; however, the consensus is that ‘a geek is a person who obsesses in one area or another, whereas a nerd is a highly intelligent person who is very scholarly and does well in many domains such as math, science, computing, etc. Nerds are more associated with obsessive knowledge…

Needless to say, this nerd/geek discussion, which continues on for several more pages, caused me to question my own self-proclaimed “nerd” status. Am I actually a geek and not a nerd? Nerds seem to be more liberal arts, i.e. their knowledge base extends to many subjects. On the other hand, they seem to be most associated with computing, math, etc., so maybe I’m just a linguistics geek, but not a nerd. Ah, the challenges of defining one’s self.

Anderegg’s wonderful, tongue-in-cheek style is showcased in his chapter titles, like the one I cited above. Other gems include:

• “The Nerd Dilemma, or, Why Ashton Kutcher is Your Kid’s Worst Nightmare”
• “They can’t Help it, They’re Just Sick, or, How Better Treatment Might Help Cure Bill Gates” (in which he refutes the popular notion that some or all geeks/nerds have Asperger’s Syndrome)
• “The Seinfeld Axiom, or, Why Nerds Know Advanced Calculus but can’t Get to First Base”

And, as a final endorsement of Nerds, one of the later chapers includes a marvelous portrayal of the George Bush v. Al Gore election as the classic jock v. nerd situation. Of course, we all know Al Gore wasn’t all nerd and George Bush wasn’t all jock (in fact, each refutes these stereotypes in many ways), but the nation nonetheless seemed to love pitting these two against each other in an archetypal way. We focused on Gore’s erudite tendencies to spout facts and contrasted these with the charm and whimsy of Bush’s nicknames for the White House press corps. Needless to say, it’s useful to look at these contemporary examples when trying to define a “nerd,” so I appreciate Anderegg’s inclusion.

I’ll leave you with my favorite of the many quotables to be found in Nerds:

Young teenagers are fascists. The whole issue of ‘popularity’ in middle school is a  yawning gulf of misery for most people, at least when viewed in memory.

Check it out. You won’t be sorry, even if you’re not a nerd.

-N