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Nerds. Geeks. Dorks. These words are just words and yet society has turned them into weapons, stigmatas, and punishments. To be socially awkward is a sin. To “not fit in” with the popular people is a blemish upon one’s moral character. To enjoy learning about obscure matters is to be an outcast. Why? Child psychologist David Anderegg, Ph.D. explores this question and many others in his book Nerds: Who They Are and Why We Need More of Them. In his book, he interviews several children and teenagers, asking them what they think of nerds in their schools and how they feel about them in relation to their own life plus adds his own life experiences as an adult nerd.

During one of the interviews, a child named Max remarked that there was a kid in his class who was a nerd. When Dr. Anderegg asked him what his definition of a nerd was, Max claimed that a nerd was someone who “always does what he is told. A nerd does well in school because that is what teachers and parents want. A nerd is the same thing as a suck-up: a kid who is eager to please the authorities. And whatever else Max knows about nerds, he knows he doesn’t want to be one.” If you are smart, then you can never be popular. Strangely enough, the United States is probably the only country that looks down upon the intellectual and reveres the popular while other countries do quite the opposite. The intellectuals ARE the popular ones. As Dr. Anderegg states, America represents the Man of Action (just do it!) while other countries, especially the ones in Europe, represent the Man of Reflection (pauses to think and learn before acting). Why would anyone want to be with a man who enjoys astrophysics or a woman who belongs to a worldwide Renaissance reenactment society? Why indeed.

However, he explains that it is because of nerds that MMORPGs (massively multiplayer online role playing games) like World of Warcraft are extremely popular and have taken off within the mainstream. The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien, in what was once thought of as uber nerd literature, is now hip thanks to the movies. Romance author Vicki Lee Thompson writes a series of romance books in which the nerd is the one who gets the beautiful and popular girl. Computers are now a “staple” of life. Sci-fi conventions like Dragon Con in Atlanta, GA are populated by 30,000+ people every year while more and more are popping up not only in the US but all over the world, catering to those who are not of the norm. The nerds have taken their well deserved revenge.

Or have they? Children still use the words nerd and geek to demean others in the schoolyard while adults look down on those who are not into items that make one “pretty” or “popular”. People who read science fiction and fantasy novels are seen as immature. The best selling role playing game Dungeons and Dragons is still seen as demonic and the people who play it do not have a grip on reality. The Harry Potter series is self explanatory.

So, is there hope for the nerd or geek? Dr. Anderegg thinks so but the change must begin at home; parents who must instill correct morals in their children for they are a direct reflection of the world they live in today. And, being a self labeled nerd myself, I couldn’t agree more. The nerd you save might be your own.