In a city packed with top colleges and brilliant thinkers, the word "nerd" is bound to strike a nerve. "Nerd" and "Geek" are commonly considered insults, but many Bostonians have shrugged off the label and are either enjoying success or are on their way to success in scholarly pursuits. So-called nerds live here in a fairly safe haven.

But sometimes, nerd contempt bubbles up. Witness the anger against MIT student Star Simpson, who walked into Logan Airport with a light-up sweatshirt that caused a panic. That wasn't the smartest thing she could have done, but when word got out that she was an MIT student, anger toward her seemed to increase. The Herald's reaction was to slap the words "More Idiotic Tricks" over her image, effectively labeling all MIT students as prone to similar mistakes. Bostonist also admits to calling Simpson book-smart, but not social-smart.

Why do people get so up-in-arms over displays of nerdiness, whether they be on "Beauty and the Geek" or more serious episodes like L'Affaire Simpson? Why do kids and adults try to quash nerdy tendencies in themselves and others? David Andregg, a psychology professor in western Mass who also practices, tries to find the answer in Nerds: Who They Are and Why We Need More of Them.

The book is full of examples that prove nerd contmept is pervasive and deeply ingrained in American culture. In the mass media, nerds are lovable and sometimes get the girl, but, in real life, think about how nerdy kids get treated in school. Anderegg also devotes an entire chapter to Bush versus Gore, which is the large-scale equivalent of a popular kid, or "pop," winning a Student Council election.

More after the jump! Image from Amazon.

One problem for nerds is that the work they love isn't considered sexy: "So a simple answer to the problem of tech man and his cultural icon is that it is difficult to portray or show a romantic picture of what technology workers do....There is not much that is rugged, or heroic-appearing, in what tech workers do. They sit and look at computer screens" (149). In the past, mechanics and cowboys had work that made them look hot and attractive, whereas those who work with computers all day don't exactly exude sex appeal.

Anderegg suggests that kids are acting out the rage of their parents and adults. As adults grow more anxious over whether or not their jobs will be shipped to computer programmers in India, children see that: "there are the more direct and personal messages about economic displacement coming from individual parents who feel resentful about their old ways of knowing being supplanted" (154). Parents are losing their jobs because they don't know computers, and they lash out at the easiest targets they can find.

Unfortunately, some adults behave badly toward nerds for reasons beyond the economic. Some fully-grown people are so desperate to look cool that they keep picking on nerds past high school. Anderegg singles out Joel Stein of the LA Times for lamely targeting 8-year-old coin collectors. Anderegg's message to Stein is, if he's so cool, why does he feel the need to pick on 8-year-olds?

Anderegg convincingly argues that, if society can't find a way to make math and science more appealing, or to make certain nerd-bashing adults grow up, then America is in trouble. Math and science scores for American students are low, and, when students get out of high school, they may have memories of being the popular kids, but they are woefully unprepared for college and jobs.

However, when offering solutions to the problem, Anderegg advocates an approach that is too protective of kids, including suggesting banning "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow," which features the original nerd vs. jock struggle in the interactions between Ichabod Crane and Brom Bones. People should know how to think critically, and a good teacher should be able to convey to students that what they read in literature is not real. Helping children--and more than a few adults--tell the difference between real life and media images is crucial. If the teacher bans "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow," or the parent doesn't let the kid watch "Beauty and the Geek,"* the child will encounter nerd-hate somewhere else.

That said, Anderegg proves that hating on nerds isn't something that the kids "get over." Sure, some kids get over it and make millions, like Bill Gates, but nerd anxiety has a much more powerful impact than we might think.