Is the Maker Movement Making It Cool For Kids To Be Nerds? 220
blackbearnh writes "For many adults into technology, childhood was an alienating experience, pigeon-holed as a nerd and relegated to the A/V, Computer or Gaming club in high school. But according to a Christian Science Monitor article that looks at young Makers, the next generation of tech geeks are social and are gaining increasing support from corporate America. Radio Shack is stocking Arduinos, Autodesk bought Instructables, and teens are flocking to local Hackerspaces to learn how to create their own gear. Wired GeekDad David Giancaspro thinks the desire to create things is natural. 'As we've moved further and further away from that, towards what people call "knowledge work," as opposed to producing something physical, that urge is starting to come back,' he says."
Consider earlier times (Score:5, Interesting)
It used to be that it was more common for people to DIY. In the dark old days, the men fixed their wagons (literally) and women sewed their own clothing.
The "maker movement" is just a regression to the norm. The excursion into mass market consumerism was several generations, so we've forgotten.
Also, by defintion you can't be a nerd if everybody does it; but that topic is covered above.
Re:Consider earlier times (Score:5, Interesting)
I think you hit the nail on the head. There was a time when there was a huge skill set of knowledge that went along with being a man. Working with tools, especially. If one defines a nerd as someone who fixes and builds things, then almost every man in my grandfather's generation was a nerd. But that's not really how 'nerd' is defined.
There have been a lot of /. stories about what a nerd really is and what's happening with 'nerd culture.' The biggest flaw I see in all of these articles is this idea that a 'nerd' is a fixed thing. That it's static in some way. But that's not true, it's an abstract idea that is relative to time and culture. A good comparison would be the term 'honorable.' What was honorable to Victorians is much different than what was honorable to Native Americans 500 years ago which is much different than what is honorable today.
Re:Using tech is Hip, (Score:3, Interesting)
ignorance, which some people wear like a medal of honor
I've seen that. Many times when I have to fix someone's computer, they are eager to immediately say "I don't know anything about these things!"