I have been thinking about anti-intellectualism recently. I am reading a book called
Nerds by David Anderegg. I was expecting it to be about anti-intellectualism in America. I discovered that David Anderegg is a child psychologist and book is more about the nerd stereotype and how it is affecting our children and how that is changing America.
I find that many of the points he brings up I can't identify with. I think that mainly has to do with a few things about my life that are uncommon. First, he talked about how the many girls don't pursue a career in math or science because of social pressure that tells them it is unattractive to be more intelligent than boys. He brought up the point that many schools feel that girls and boys should be educated separately than boys in math and science to reduce this pressure. For middle school, I went to a Private Girls School which heavily emphasized math and science. Because of this school, I excelled in math and science and took very advanced classes in High School. I believe part of the main reason why I went there was because my parents felt this is an issue and then wanted to prevent that. Since I haven't felt the pressure myself to dumb myself down for boys, I can't really identify with this societal problem.
Next, Anderegg talks about the portrayal of nerds and how that affects a child's behavior. Since the concept of a nerd is difficult to understand, most young children believe a nerd is a suck-up, someone who pleases the adults around him. The problem that occurs with that is children that hear their parents make jokes about nerds logically believe that if they are to be liked by their parents, then they shouldn't be nerdy. This is also an idea that is foreign to me. My dad is a huge nerd but he defies the traditional stereotype of a nerd. Since I have grown up with my dad as a norm, I never really had the need to rebel. Even now, I don't really feel the negative connotation that most people associate with the term nerd. It is my secret aspiration.
The other day, before I started reading this book, I was talking with my mom.I told here that the two things that bug me the most seem like opposites. The first thing is I hate people underestimating my intelligence. This actually happens a lot. I am blond and I sometime a bit slow and sometime I do dumb things. However, I am not stupid. So, when people see me and try to dumb things down for me, it makes me really angry. The second thing is when people think I am smart. I know it sounds like a contradiction, but it is not. Before I changed my major, back when I was still an electrical engineering major, when they asked, I would tell them my major. One of the most common responses was "Oh, you must be smart." Well, my problem with that statement is to them it is not a good thing. They have just classified me as one of those "smart people" that they can't associate with because I am too smart. Now, that usually doesn't happen, but it just as insulting as if it were true.
Why do Americans look down on those who are smart? Has our success as a country pushed us so far that we believe we don't intelligence and a good work ethic? Is this why our national leadership has suffered? America, it is time to step up and reevaluate who we are and what we want.