Leonid Fridman's 'America Needs Its Nerds'

In an essay published in the New Yorker in May 1999, entitled “High-School Confidential: Notes on Teen Movies,” writer David Denby analyzes movies targeted towards teenagers and the stereotypes associated with them. He begins his essay by describing the archetypal characters in high school genre films: the vapid popular girl and her athletic male counterpart, and the intellectual outsider and her awkward male counterpart. He then describes the reality of teen life, and compares it to the experience depicted in these films. Next, he analyzes the common theme that the geeky characters are the protagonists, and suggests there are such because of their writer's personal experience and a history of geeks being ostracized. Finally, Denby analyzes the tropes in

Anything but non-existent, the parallel suggests that technology is having a definite change on our “plastic” brains. New technologies mold us to their likings whether we adhere to them or not. And as “mechanical clocks were not manufactured to spur the adoption of a more scientific mode of thinking”, the internet is not intended to create more adverted, shallow thinking humans. But all behaviors prevailing show that it is. Acknowledging this fact, readers can either begin to challenge that their life is being changed or affirm the conclusion. This parallel is exactly the strategy needed to convince readers that it’s an “invention’s intellectual ethic that has the most profound effect on us.”

In today’s society, constant judgement as to how well you fit in achieves nothing, rather distinguishes hope for improvement. Ideas including being looked down upon for an individual’s intelligence or being pushed aside from groups due to one’s academic ability are becoming an epidemic as those who seek to better themselves are seen as inferiors. The United States today is accustomed to issues as far as the negative deterioration towards those who possess higher mental values. In America Needs Its Nerds by Leonid Fridman, a look into how geeks and nerds are identified, the reality of childhood dilemmas, and the problem in the broad spectrum of the globe are all noted and questioned as to why America as a society expresses such a negative position

Technology has evolved so much over the course of 82 years. People who were living in 1935 would have no clue what a computer is or what it could potentially become. Education itself and how we learn has come a long way. Everything was hand written. Now in 2017, we have every answer with just one touch of a button. Google is a search engine that holds almost every answer in the world. There are many opinions on the way humans in 2017 function, and process information. Nicholas carr is a respect author who writes about the relationship between technology and culture. He has written for the Atlantic, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, etc. He has written two great essay that have won The Best American Science and Nature Writing, The Best collected in Several Anthologies, The Best American Science and Nature Writing, and The Best Technology Writing. One of them which is titled, “Is Google Making Us Stupid.”  Nicholas Carr argues that Google is not making humans stupid, but as technology progress our minds must adapt and change the way we think and process information. This essay has many rhetorical approaches. Nicholas Carr uses imagery, opinion, ethos, and pathos to persuade his audience, provoking a doubt on whether google is making humans stupid.

If it wasn’t for people acting against conformity and developing their interests in academics America wouldn’t be where it is in technical advancements. Fridman argues that for America’s success it’s necessary that, “the anti-intellectual values that pervade our society must be fought” to raise more citizens to be intellectual (Fridman 20-21). He urges for society’s values to be challenged in order for individuals to get more involved with educating themselves. Fridman points out, “There are very few countries in the world where anti-intellectualism runs as high in popular culture as it does in the U.S.”

Leonid Fridman, author of "America Needs Its Nerds" wrote about how people who want to pursue their knowledge should be not be ashamed of that. Fridman develops his argument by talking about how other countries go about learning compared to the U.S, asking rhetorical questions, finding similarities between the different school/ education levels when it comes to the terms "nerd" and "geek".

I selected the book The Geeks Shall Inherit the Earth by Alexandra Robbins because I was interested to read about an adult author’s perception of a modern American high school experience. I also chose the book because the reviews mentioned that it related to a TV series I enjoyed, Freaks and Geeks. As I read through the book, I found that it centered around the theory that if a student is excluded or dismissed in high school for having different traits than what other students considered normal, those same traits that made them different will allow them to succeed in an adult life after high school. As soon as I got about a quarter of the way into the book I was not as enthusiastic as I was at first glance. I did agree that these traits could benefit someone, but they don’t define what you have the potential to be when you’re an adult. This high school cliché, despite the seven heartwarming storylines, is inaccurate in describing what the future holds for high school students because our future is unpredictable, and a book with a little statistic and seven high school experiences can’t solidify someone’s adulthood. I also noticed that there were no counterarguments present in the book, leading me to assume that Robbins may not have heavily researched both sides of her ‘quirk’ argument. Although I had differing opinions than the author, the seven characters, their storylines, and the promise of a young James Franco continued to perk my interest and

Author, Alexandra Robbins, in her novel The Geeks Shall Inherit the Earth, describes her quirk theory and establishes its credibility as she centers her theory around seven different characters as she narrates their high school experiences. Robbins focuses on the negative effects of popularity and how social norms can affect an individual, regardless of what social group they belong to. She creates an amusing, informative tone in order to appeal to the geeks, freaks, and popular crowds with relatable experiences and strong essays in regards with the social scene, exclusivity, and how one handles a given situation.

It appears that in today’s society, intellectual beings, or “geeks” and “nerds” as they’re often referred to, are being pressured in everyday life events because they don’t quite seem to “fit in” even though they are the backbone of America’s economical and technological advances. Although these “nerds” play an important role in keeping America ahead in the scholarly and technological world, they’re rarely ever praised, for instead, they are bashed and labeled with derogatory terms for being too much of a “geek.” As for Leonid Fridman, he addresses America’s behavior towards “nerds” in his essay, “American Needs Its Nerds,” by using irony and antitheses to draw attention to anti-intellectualism values in America and uncover how society is stepping down on its “geeks” and “nerds.”

In chapter one of The Dumbest Generation, Mike Bauerlein makes several statements about our generation and comes to a conclusion that helps set the groundwork for the entire book. His analysis of today’s youth states that the current generation is lacking when it comes to intellectual knowledge. He provides evidence that states that today’s under-thirty population in the United States does not have adequate knowledge, and their lack of knowledge with affect them greatly in their adulthood years.

Along with the progression of society, major advances have been made in hundreds of different fields — particularly technology. Controversy has risen, and debates ensued over whether today's young Americans are really “the dumbest generation,” due to their “money, media, e-gadgets, and career plans” [Source A]. While advances have been made, they have brought with them resources to benefit off of, and ultimately assist in the overall intellect and intelligence of the human race.

The 1961 short story by Kurt Vonnegut, “Harrison Bergeron,” details a dystopian future in which the mediocre and average are lionized, and the exceptional in society are marginalized and treated as though they are handicapped and/or criminal. The plot of “Harrison Bergeron” revolves around the plight of its title character, an adolescent boy who is 7’1” tall, extremely good looking, and has a genius-level I.Q., to boot. In the story, Harrison has been placed in jail in order to protect society from his exceptionality. In the society of 2081 America that Vonnegut depicts, the United States government has installed a fascist government that punishes people for falling above the norm in any instance. As the story progresses, the reader learns that Harrison’s mother is actually of below average intelligence, and this has rendered her into an “ideal citizen.” Harrison’s father, on the other hand, possesses above average intelligence and is subject to constant monitoring by the government, so as to ensure that he does not use his superior abilities to act outside of the norm, in any way. Ultimately, “Harrison Bergeron” is a Marxist critique of the late capitalist society of the twentieth century United States, which celebrates the “average” and the “mediocre,” while demonizing innovation.

To be a “Nerd” according to UrbanDictionary.com’s top voted definition is:”One whose IQ exceeds his weight.”. If you do not know what urban dictionary is. It is a website that explains words to modern terms. The terms that the general English speaking population uses and agrees on. Although, that is the most popular. The one that I feel fits the situation better is the second highest ranking definition for nerd:” An individual persecuted for his superior skills or intellect, most

A Geek is a person one who is perceived to be overly intellectual, unfashionable, or socially awkward. Once used as a derogatory term, the word Geek is now used to describe leaders. People like Bill Gates of Microsoft, the late Steve Jobs of Apple Computers, Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook, all famous “Computer Geeks”, Elon Musk of Tesla and SpaceX “Transportation or Space Geek”, Ralph Lauren “Fashion Geek”, even the President of the United States, Barrack Obama has been called a geek, “World Leader Geek”?. All could be called overly intellectual, unfashionable (except Mr. Lauren), or socially awkward, however, all are considered geniuses in their industry. In today’s world, the term geek and expert are used interchangeably to identify people

Today Geek Culture is a widely acknowledged sub-culture across the world. Technology and media are ever changing and the Geek Culture reflects the changes with the acceptance of “nerds”, “otaku”, and the “dweeb”. Though mostly meant as derogatory terms they are now seen as acceptable jokes that are popular in this moment of history. Nerds are the socially awkward and intelligent population the term is also interchangeable with its outdated counterpart dweeb. Otaku was used to insult adults who enjoyed anime that though not meant for children was still considered cartoons therefore childish; but now many refer to themselves as an otaku.