"Nerd" and "Geek" Should Be Banned, Professor Says(bits.blogs.nytimes.com)

2 pointsby mcantorvor 17 Jahren3 comments

bits.blogs.nytimes.com

"Nerd" and "Geek" Should Be Banned, Professor Says

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/12/21/nerd-and-geek-should-be-banned-professor-says/?partner=rss&emc=rss

2 comments

liedenvor 17 Jahren

I think the last sentence says it all:

He is an expert on the subject, and the reason I called him for the piece was that I had noticed the praise for his book, “Nerds: Who They Are and Why We Need More of Them.”

So... he has no interest in "banning" these words, he wants attention and for more people to buy copies of his book.

mcantorvor 17 Jahren

Full disclosure: I took this guy's class in college.

I don't think that wanting to symbolically "ban" a word, and writing a book about its effects on our culture, are mutually exclusive.

balding_n_tiredvor 17 Jahren

Ah, Bennington. Pick up a copy of Randall Jarrell's novel _Pictures from an Institution_, where it figures as "Benton" College and see whether the place has changed.