You either know one, or perhaps for the very reason you are reading this article, you are one. What I am referring to is “Nerd”, a person of high intelligence normally employed in the fields of science or engineering. The typical stereotype of horn-rimmed glasses, pleated slacks (or in the case of females, skirts) bring to mind an annoying but rather harmless creature. Then why is it they seem to have such a bad reputation? I do have a theory that I believe will give answers to these questions, one that will throw out all those “We don’t like them because they are smarter than us” excuses. That is, behind every pocket protector beats a heart of true evil.
History
The history of nerds begins in the time of the renaissance. The Italian Galileo is credited with many scientific discoveries, but his most important contribution to the world was introducing the concept of the socially backward, intellectually advanced personality.
He is considered to be by many the First Cause of Nerdism. And who could forget “Life of the Party” Isaac Newton, whom folklore dictates came up with the Laws of Gravity watching an apple fall off a tree. I think a more accurate depiction is that people were throwing fruit at him as he strolled the countryside. Both of these men moved ahead the field of physics, and both of them infuriated every one around them. This includes the Catholic Church in Galileo’s case, and the United Kingdom in Newton’s. Collectively, they probably had more enemies than Attila the Hun’s army.
Moving into the twentieth century, we have Albert Einstein. Dear sweet Albert, who could think a man evil if they modeled Yoda’s eyes after his? Oh yeah, listen to this, he didn’t wear socks. So what? You might say. Well, in those days the ventilation systems in academic buildings were not very efficient. Imagine being in a classroom or office with someone whose foot odor permeates every square inch? The secret tales of torture Dr. Einstein would impose on his colleagues and students have become stuff of legend to those in his inner circle.
The Media
The movies depicting nerds only helped to support the villain ideal. In fact, they became the next “bad guy” after the western lost it’s popularity. However, this villain wore a lab coat instead of a black hat, and his six gun was a test tube.
Who could forget Peter Lorre, in “Mad Love” whose greatest weapon was annoying people to death? Or the scores of Frankenstein films, including the Japanese versions? How about Sir Vincent Price, who based a career on giving scientists a bad rap? No wonder people scream in horror when they see a slide rule.More recently, the film “Revenge of the Nerds” is a based on a college campus where a marauding gang of computer geeks terrifies an innocent group of jocks and cheerleaders.
When will the madness end, you may ask (or perhaps you are just too busy eating to care), how can we change the tide of nerd mob domination? Well, first of all, maybe we could recognize that nerds are not bad, just “misunderstood”. It could be their parents did not buy a crystal radio set they wanted as a child, and they are trying to fill that void of emptiness. Or perhaps they are brain damaged from lack of blood circulation because of too many wedgies, we may never know. What we do know is that we can change the way the world views them, and that may be the way to lead them from doing bad.
“How”, you ask as you look on with wide-eyed amazement “can we change their negative image?” We can start by portraying nerds in a more positive light. This has already begun, with films like “Good Will Hunting” and “Real Genius”. Smart people were portrayed as cool, hip, and dare I say, sexy? Or course, “Star Trek”, including the original, Picard, that lady and the other guy versions, have done more to increase a positive nerd self-image than any other medium known to man.
Another way is to volunteer time at a geek shelter. You can do so much good by just showing them you care, and by donating your old computers, radios, and VCR you can keep them busy and away from a life of evil experiments. It will give you joy unbounded as you see their pimply faces light up and their coke bottle glasses fog with tears when you bring them the latest version of Linux.
Remember, nerds are people too, at least we are pretty sure of that fact.
