Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Ken Jennings quote from Parade

Robert W.: You latest book idea sounds cool; you should collaborate with the MythBusters! My question: Geeks are far cooler now than they used to be. What do you think was the biggest factor in that change? 


Ken Jennings: Robert: I think two things led to geeks winning the terrible jocks-vs-nerds conflicts of the 1980s. One was the computer revolution: today's big tycoons and power players aren't broad-muscles he-men with big muttonchop sideburns like Rockefellers and Vanderbilts. They're pale, spindly creatures with acne scars and possibly some kind of autism-spectrum disorder: your Zuckerbergs and Gateses and Jobses. Second, the first kids raised on geek culture grew up and started running media companies, so now hobbits and wizards and superheroes aren't niche properties anymore, they're the subjects of summer tentpole movies.