
"Nerd" and "Geek" Should Be Banned, Professor Says - mcantor
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/12/21/nerd-and-geek-should-be-banned-professor-says/?partner=rss&emc=rss
======
lieden
I think the last sentence says it all:

He is an expert on the subject, and the reason I called him for the piece was
that I had noticed the praise for his book, “Nerds: Who They Are and Why We
Need More of Them.”

So... he has no interest in "banning" these words, he wants attention and for
more people to buy copies of his book.

~~~
mcantor
Full disclosure: I took this guy's class in college.

I don't think that wanting to symbolically "ban" a word, and writing a book
about its effects on our culture, are mutually exclusive.

------
balding_n_tired
Ah, Bennington. Pick up a copy of Randall Jarrell's novel _Pictures from an
Institution_, where it figures as "Benton" College and see whether the place
has changed.

