Once a derogatory term used to insult those who were secluded, socially awkward or an outsider, today it has become a badge of honour.
Words don’t enter our language fully formed or in their final state. The sense of the word itself evolves over time, changing our understanding and perception of a term. An example of this is the label ‘nerd’. Once a derogatory term used to insult those who were secluded, socially awkward or an outsider, today it has become a badge of honour. Nerdism today means 'reliable expertise', which represents a paradigm shift in the age of information. This change is partly due to the economic successes of Silicon Valley pioneers such as Steve Jobs and Bill Gates, whose companies today generate billions and hold more knowledge about our everyday lives than ever before. And if knowledge is power, the nerd has become king.