Q&A with Benjamin Nugent 6.2.08

Thanks for spending the day with us at Titlepage.

Two questions occurred to me when I was watching your segment on Episode #6.

Question #1

On Titlepage you advanced the fascinating idea that, while by no means completely synonymous, “nerd” has long been a vernacular, or folk, diagnosis for some people who, we now determine, fall somewhere noticeably on the Autism continuum.

Assuming this is true, could you talk more about what you think the social and cultural ramifications of this are?

Question #2

You talk about how the ‘80s were a turning point for the advent of, let’s say, “nerd respectability,” and in your discussion you mention several movies -- comparing, for instance, Jerry Lewis’ “The Nutty Professor” (1963) with “Rain Man” (1988) for which Dustin Hoffman won an Academy Award.

Could you also speak about about "Revenge of the Nerds" (1984) and what role that very popular movie played in the cultural emergence of the nerd?