Nerds. Is it OK to have a beautiful mind?
A review by The Week magazine of the book “Nerds” notes the term was used by Dr. Seuss in one of his books in 1950.
“Its actual definition has had shifting boundaries, says book author child psychologist David Anderegg.
“Today it connotes ’some combination of school success, interest in precision, un-self-consciousness, closeness to adults, and interest in fantasy.’
“The lack of self-consciousness particularly unnerves other people, Anderegg says. It makes the rest of us feel obliged to keep informing the nerds that they’re nerdy.”
Negative views of intellectuals and artists have often been perpetuated by movies.
Writer John Clark used the film “The Royal Tenenbaums” (2001) as an example of the stereotype that geniuses “must be miserable, nearly always troubled. That way, we can feel better about ourselves.
“In Hollywood, you can never be too rich or too thin, but you can be too smart. It’s OK to have a beautiful face. It’s not OK to have a beautiful mind.”
From post: Gifted Kids: Nerds endure and create even without support
