Editing Nerd (section)

===Pride===
Some measures of "nerdiness" are now considered desirable by many commentators. To some, "nerd" suggests a person who is intelligent, respectful, interesting, dedicated, individualistic, and able to earn a large salary doing what they love. Stereotypical nerd qualities are evolving, going from awkwardness and [[Social rejection|social ostracism]] to an allegedly more widespread acceptance and sometimes even celebration of their differences. Many so-called "nerdy people" have accumulated large fortunes, and many are able to find their niche in the American [[computer]] industry, concentrated in California's [[Silicon Valley]], the Greater [[Seattle]] area (working for companies like [[Amazon (company)|Amazon]] or [[Microsoft]]), and the [[Silicon Slopes]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Cringely|first=Robert|title=Triumph of the Nerds: A History of the Computer|url=https://www.pbs.org/nerds/timeline/micro.html|access-date=26 June 2012|newspaper=Public Broadcasting Service}}</ref> These engineers and programmers have influenced popular culture in many ways, caught the attention of the media, and effectively designed a new category of everyday objects. 

Being adept with computers, often considered a "nerdy" interest, is now widespread and even an expectation in professional and academic spaces. Many celebrities in the first decade of the [[2000s]] publicly expressed interest in smartphones and other handheld devices. Similarly, many stereotypical "nerdy" interests, such as [[video games]], [[tabletop RPG]]s, [[comic book]] franchises, and [[fantasy]] and [[science fiction]] works, are now international popular culture hits.<ref>{{cite news|last=Woyke|first=Elizabeth|title=Celebrity Nerds Come Out|url=https://www.forbes.com/2008/09/19/celebrity-geeks-gadgets-tech-personal-cx_ew_0919celeb.html|access-date=26 June 2012|newspaper=Forbes|date=19 September 2008}}</ref> 

[[Johannes Grenzfurthner]], researcher, self-proclaimed nerd and director of nerd documentary ''[[Traceroute (film)|Traceroute]]'', reflects on the emergence of nerds and nerd culture:
{{blockquote|I think that the figure of the nerd provides a beautiful template for analyzing the transformation of the disciplinary society into the control society. The nerd, in his cliche form, first stepped out upon the world stage in the mid-1970s, when we were beginning to hear the first rumblings of what would become the Cambrian explosion of the information society. The nerd must serve as comic relief for the future-anxieties of Western society. ...The germ cell of burgeoning nerdism is difference. The yearning to be understood, to find opportunities to share experiences, to not be left alone with one's bizarre interest. At the same time one derives an almost perverse pleasure from wallowing in this deficit. Nerds love deficiency: that of the other, but also their own. Nerds are eager explorers, who enjoy measuring themselves against one another and also compete aggressively. And yet the nerd's existence also comprises an element of the occult, of mystery. The way in which this power is expressed or focused is very important.|Johannes Grenzfurthner, interviewed by Thomas Kaestle, ''[[Boing Boing]]'', 14 April 2016<ref>{{cite news|url=http://boingboing.net/2016/04/14/the-story-of-traceroute-about.html|title=The story of Traceroute, about a Leitnerd's quest: Johannes Grenzfurthner talks about Traceroute|publisher=[[Boing Boing]]|first=Thomas|last=Kaestle|date=14 April 2016|access-date=1 January 2017}}</ref>}}

In the 1984 film ''[[Revenge of the Nerds]]'', [[Robert Carradine]] worked to embody the nerd stereotype; in doing so, he helped create a definitive image of nerds.<ref>{{Cite news | last = Singer | first = Jon | title = Carradine hits the jackpot as Lewis Skolnick | magazine = Lumino | date = 2005-08-28 | url = http://www.luminomagazine.com/mw/content/view/341/10/ | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160101085415/http://www.luminomagazine.com/mw/content/view/341/10/ | archive-date = 2016-01-01 }}</ref> Additionally, the storyline presaged, and may have helped inspire, the "nerd pride" that emerged in the late 1990s.{{speculation inline|date=November 2021}} ''[[American Splendor]]'' regular [[Toby Radloff]] claims this was the movie that inspired him to become "The Genuine Nerd from [[Cleveland, Ohio]]".<ref>{{Cite news | last = Hensley | first = Dennis | title = Revenge of the nerd: American Splendor's Toby Radloff is out and proud about his sexuality and his nerddom | magazine = The Advocate | date = 2003-09-02 | url = http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1589/is_2003_Sept_2/ai_110737685 | access-date = 22 July 2007 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071117062557/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1589/is_2003_Sept_2/ai_110737685 | archive-date = 17 November 2007 | url-status = dead }}</ref> In the ''American Splendor'' film, Toby's friend, ''American Splendor'' author [[Harvey Pekar]], was less receptive to the movie, believing it to be hopelessly idealistic, explaining that Toby, an adult low income file clerk, had nothing in common with the middle class kids in the film who would eventually attain college degrees, success, and cease being perceived as nerds. Many, however, seem to share Radloff's view, as "nerd pride" has become more widespread in the years since. [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology|MIT]] professor [[Gerald Sussman]], for example, seeks to instill pride in nerds:
{{blockquote|My idea is to present an image to children that it is good to be intellectual, and not to care about the peer pressures to be anti-intellectual. I want every child to turn into a nerd – where that means someone who prefers studying and learning to competing for social dominance, which can unfortunately cause the downward spiral into social rejection.|Gerald Sussman, quoted by Katie Hafner, ''[[The New York Times]]'', 29 August 1993<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/08/29/business/woman-computer-nerd-and-proud.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm|title=Woman, Computer Nerd – and Proud|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|first=Katie|last=Hafner|date=29 August 1993|access-date=11 June 2011}}</ref>}}