Yet another breathless newspaper report which reveals that people who are smarter than you have been doing a lot of stuff behind the scenes all along.
Trendspotters are recognizing a type of nouveau nerd: They are proud of their intellectual prowess, and popular culture is beginning to appreciate the brains-and-sensitivity power combination. Call it the revenge of nerds … cool nerds.
“The geeks are having their moment in the sun with technology being the name of the game in our society,” said David Morrison, with Twentysomething Inc., a Pennsylvania-based young-adult research firm. “Geekhood is going to be cool for a long time to come.”
Historically, geeks have been portrayed as social pariahs who just didn’t fit in, Morrison said. But Microsoft chairman — and billionaire — Bill Gates has made nerdiness cool for today’s young adults. And nerd status gained momentum with the pop-culture craze that surrounded socially awkward Napoleon Dynamite.
“Geekhood is now a gateway to immense wealth, power and fame that’s beyond our wildest imagination,” Morrison said.
“Geekhood is now a gateway to immense wealth, power and fame…”
Uh, okay. I’m waiting…
I’d question the value of the market research from a self-defined “young adult research firm” who believes that Bill Gates, of all people, “has made nerdiness cool.” It’s kind of like saying that Ed Sullivan made the Beatles cool.
Uhhh… maybe I’m over thinking, but isn’t coolness derived from not caring what’s “cool”?
The hippest MF’ers (Raymond Chandler, Miles Davis, et al) didn’t try to be hip. They just were.
_“Geekhood is now a gateway to immense wealth, power and fame…”_
But not a gateway to girlfriends. That’s the rub. Potential intelligent girlfriends either want no-one until the “mad dash to motherhood at 39 & three-quarters”, or fall for “yo bitch, wazzup!?” types who treat them badly.
Thanks for this. Bookmarked.