Comment by coldtea | Hacker News Reader

Comment by coldtea | Hacker News Reader

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>Nerds have actually won. Comic book and reddit culture is completely mainstream, bordering on oversaturation. Tech startup founder-programmers have replaced rock stars and professional athletes as the idolized figures of young males everywhere.

Well, you'd be surprised. Even if the majority cared about "tech startup founder-programmers" (which remains to be proven), it would be for the money and prestige involved, not the nerd factor. It's just this decades version of the Gold Rush, not some cultural shift.

As for comic books and Reddit, those are, as you say "completely mainstream", so they are not a differentiating factor between nerd and not nerd anymore. (Plus, the former are mostly mainstream due to Hollywood -- sales of comics have not really skyrocketed, and even events like Comic-Con are 80% Hollywood and TV these days).

Plus, nerds are not just startup founding hackers. Millions of programming nerds will never start their own startup. And there are tons of other kinds of nerds besides: book nerds, chemistry nerds, physics nerds, etc. And I can assure you they are as far from "rock stars and professional athletes" as ever.

And that's just for society in general. In high school it's same as ever, and one's ambition to "create the next Facebook" does not make him popular or get him laid at all.

I'd argue that it's precisely because of this decades 'gold rush' that a cultural shift has ensued towards nerds being the new cool.

Suggestive evidence of this cultural shift? Have a look at the sitcoms/shows that are airing as of late. For the most part, the nerd/engineer/scientist is almost always highly revered, rarely ever viewed as 'sub-par' in any way.

Contrast this with the 90's, (anecdotally) where nerds were often portrayed as the loser that no one wants to hang out with.

An example that comes to mind, is Fresh Princes Carlton Banks character, to say Sheldon Cooper of the BBT. Very different portrayals, almost symbolic of the nerd image in each respective era.

Why on earth would you think Big Bang Theory is a positive portrayal of scientists and engineers? The scientists and engineers on that show are portrayed as unfit, socially awkward, overgrown children.

I'll think scientists and engineers are highly revered when films about them start winning Oscars regularly (forget 'Gravity', that fell into the 'cool astronaut' category). In that sense, we've actually come backward since 'A Beautiful Mind', a film about an eccentric mathematician won four Oscars.

The Carlton Banks character was not a "nerd". He represented a well-to-do/preppy/Ivy League/conservative/Republican/fratboy/"acting white" persona that contradicted with the poor/street-smart/ghetto/cool persona of the Will Smith character.

And the Sheldon Cooper character was much more a portrayal of a contemporary obnoxious and vane "hipster" than a "nerd". The two male friend supporting characters were much closer to the "nerd" stereotype.

>I'd argue that it's precisely because of this decades 'gold rush' that a cultural shift has ensued towards nerds being the new cool.

The nerds that (rarely) make it to the cultural spotlight are not the stereotypical nerds. More someone like DHH or some similar guy with charisma.

Treating those that made it (and are older too) as special in some dedicated articles, profiles etc, is not unique to our age. It happened with Einstein, Feynman, etc, heck even back to Edison, but it didn't mean nerds had a better time back then.

We don't ever see the equivalent of 18-yo Linus Torvalds or Woz, or some awkward introverted nerd as any kind of hero or role model. And I know from experience that most nerdy types had defficient social skills in high school / uni, and most still do outside of it.

Do popular people in real life hang around with "Sheldon Cooper" types?

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