Nerds: How anti-intellectualism is bad

Listen to the mp3

November 28, 2011 [Originally broadcast on 4/4/2011] — The term nerd refers to a group of people who are intellectuals or outliers. They might be socially awkward – or not. You hear the word nerd, and the next thing you expect is some kind of joke or put down. But who are these so-called nerds, and why is it still okay to stereotype this group and make fun of them?

Dr. Dan Gottlieb talks about the nerd stereotype and how it harms us. We hear from David Anderegg, Ph.D. He argues that there really isn’t anything called nerd; all that’s real is the stereotype that negatively impacts children and adolescents and interferes with our country’s desire to compete globally. David Anderegg is the author of Nerds: How Dorks, Dweebs, Techies, and Trekkies Can Save America and Why They Might Be Our Last Hope. He’s a professor of psychology at Bennington College in Vermont.