Leonid Fridman America Needs Its Nerds

Every high school has two categories, and I bet as always, the jocks are popular and the intellectual or “nerds” are at the bottom of the social ranks. What would happen if the social categories were flipped? In the article, “America Needs its Nerds”, Leonid Fridman uses emotionally charged diction, an honest atmosphere, and syntax in order to argue that if America is going to thrive, then the negative outlook on nerds must be flipped to a positive view.

Similarly, the author expresses his argument using precise, and emotionally charged diction. Fridman is very certain that there is only two worlds, those who “prefer to build model airplanes”, and those who “get wasted at parties,” he doesn’t believe there is an in between. Fridman uses words such as “wasted” and “build” to show parties in a negative light and to argue that if America wants to progress, then the intellectual must be in charge.

He asks the looming question "how long can America remain" and his opinion on the matter clearly lies under the surface. The atmosphere clearly relates to the main idea; the nerd group is a huge influence in our society, and we need to show appreciation to them. The author also clearly believes that the "US elementary schools and high schools" are the problem as compared to school in other countries. The atmosphere he set creates the mindset that the U.S. is the only country with this problem and that nerds are only severely mistreated here. He also uses instances in school, not just the social environment, to prove that nerds are always looked down on. He suggests that an academic institution like Harvard even has discrimination against nerds with “anti-intellectualism rampant.” The atmosphere leads the readers to his argument that America will not survive if nerds are not seen positively and in his opinion the U.S. is the only country with this sole