[untog]

I actually don't think "nerds!!!" is much of a thing any more - much of our cultural output is based around comic books and fantasy stories, the likes of which were regarded as nerdy persuits when I was a teenager.

I think people are happy to describe science and math education as important, they're just not happy to pay for it. Decades of underinvestment in public education results in undereducated people, but no-one wants to actually deal with the issue.

[karthikb]

Agree - "nerds" today may not necessarily be the coolest kids in the room, but they aren't typed as social outcasts either. This is of course location dependent.