America Needs Its Nerds Summary

Leonid Fridman in his article “America Needs Its Nerds” (1990) proposes that “For America’s sake the anti-intellectual values that pervade our society must be fought.” Fridman accomplishes the by first spelling out how the meaning of the terms geek and nerd are derogatory, secondly, he explains how at prestigious colleges “nerds are ostracized while athletes are idolized.” Third, Fridman describes how other countries treat the intellectually serious: hold them and teacher above athletes. Fridman includes definition, rhetorical question, and contrast as a means to convince America of why nerds are important to our society and to provide evidence as to why they should not be ridiculed. Fridman employs a serious tone throughout the article with the purpose that the idea of nerds importance resonates with the audience and does not go understated.

[Leonid Fridman introduces his article with a definition to provide logical evidence as to why the terms nerds and geeks are derogatory.] “A geek according to Webster’s New World Dictionary, is a street performer who shocks the public by biting off heads of live chickens,” (lines six and seven) it has nothing to do with a person’s intellectual curiosity. Fridman …show more content…
Some people will deny will deny the little respect or care given to these intellectuals, so he provides examples to disband this argument. He also does to demonstrate how the American culture affects every age group especially in elementary through high school where we should be fostering and cultivation this curiosity not making others feel ashamed of