would rather tinker with motherboards or engines than play football with their friends. Despite their future achievements, these children have been labeled as ‘nerds’ or ‘geeks’. These geniuses are discriminated against for being able to bring amazing technology to the hands of an average human. Leonid Fridman, in his essay America Needs its Nerds, he uses the tools of rhetoric to unveil the repercussions of American’s bigotry towards intellectuals. Fridman begins his essay with accusatory…
Leonid Fridman, author of the passage, America Needs Its Nerds, develops a strong argument in which he believes that America shames those who value studying and labels them as “nerds” and “geeks” instead of praising these individuals. Fridman uses examples to further his argument to evoke a sympathetic and relatable appeal for the audience. When the author mentions Harvard students and the “anti-intellectualism” that is prevalent on campus he makes his essay relatable for those in a university,…
2008 Form B FRQ Q2 What’s wrong with being intellectually curious and academically serious? Apparently everything, as far as society’s concerned, but Fridman thinks not. In the article “America Needs Its Nerds,” Leonid Fridman criticizes American society for its anti-intellectual values and emphasizes the need to stand against it through the use of rhetorical strategies such as exemplifications and comparisons. He adopts a criticizing, reprimanding tone towards the audience in order to ensure…
experience in U.S schools early on in the book. In The Geeks Shall Inherit The Earth, Robbins introduces the idea of quirk theory, which states that “many of the differences that cause a student to be excluded in school are the same traits or real-world skills that others will value, love, respect, or find compelling…
In Leonid Fridmans "America Needs Its Nerds" students that value and focus on acadimics are shunned from the spot light and shammed for there abilities. Fridman says, " Someone dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge is compared to a freak biting the head off of a live chicken." Fridman finds the fault not only with our society but with the sytemour education. In Mary Sherry's " In Praise of the F Word", she explains thatkids are not affraid of failing because there is not such a thing anymore.…
and physical prowess. In America Needs Its Nerds Fridman carefully and cleverly develops this argument; he first demonstrates the problem in America and ends his argument with rhetorical questions. This strategy captures the audience’s attention and coaxes them to reflect on personal values; accordingly, Fridman promotes appreciating academics in order to better America. Fridman demonstrates a problem in America by providing contrast to other countries. In America academics are not as…
Leonid Fridman, the author of the article,”America Need Its Nerds” in the New York Times, addresses how geeks and nerd are portrayed negatively in society. He asserts the faults in American society’s values in order to convince the readers of the New York Times to appreciate the intellectually curious instead of degrading them. Fridman integrates logos,ethos, and pathos to support his objective of persuading the readers of the New York Times to acknowledge the intellectuals rather than…
In a 1990 article published by the New York Times, “America Needs Its Nerds” by Leonid Fridman, Fridman argues that people that are intellectually curious are degraded and disrespected in America. If we do not begin to prioritize intellectualism, America as a country will not be able to keep up with the rest of the world. In the first section of the article, Fridman establishes that the terminology people in America use to refer to the intellectually curious is derogatory. Fridman references…
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…
Geezers and Geeks. The Geezer era lasted from 1945-1955 they are now mostly seventy years or older. The main event that impacted the Geezers perspective was World War two. WWII involved most of the world and created a huge social change within America. While most American men were away fighting in the war, everyone within the United States were doing “their part” to help with the war; women began working outside of the home and rationing of materials needed for the soldiers. The Geeks era lasted…