Fridman's Essay 'America Needs Its Nerds'

In the essay, “America Needs Its Nerds,” Fridman discusses various reasons why intelligence in American society should not be scene as a curse, but as a blessing. He praises intelligence throughout his paper constantly arguing against society’s classification of brilliant minds. Furthermore, Fridman uses diction, parallelism, comparisons, and rhetorical questions to persuade the reader to view intelligence as the limelight of society. Instantly, Fridman states his thesis which is strongly platformed on the central idea of society’s view of the “intellectually curious and academically serious.” In addition, when Fridman writes, “Derogatory terms like nerd and geek,” the reader senses a passive aggressiveness in the negative connotation he uses to describe the general idea of intelligence in society. Additionally he brings up the comparison between a “someone dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge” to“freak biting the head off a live chicken” in order to prove the value of intelligence in the eyes of the public. …show more content…
Not only does he mention this parallel, but he brings up a surprising statement about students attending “a prestigious academic institution like Harvard” being “ashamed to admit how much they study,” and this leads the reader to retain interest in his paper. Further in the essay Fridman declares the “ostracization” of intellectuals because they will not “conform to society’s anti-intellectual values.” His declaration is later stated to keep scholars from developing social skills because they are