Why it’s Dangerous that Technology Has Made so Many Nerds so Powerful

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Abstract

e or to hang out with.</p><p id="a803">Nerds are on the other side of the spectrum. They are socially awkward, shy, reserved, the people everyone would rather not be like, and will go out of their way to avoid.</p><h2 id="5e51">A struggle in your formative years</h2><p id="5d72">At school, nerds are social outcasts. Whether it be due to their intelligence or other factors, nerds struggle for acceptance and are often the victims of bullying. They are called nerds for a reason — they don’t fit in and are not part of the cool group at school.</p><p id="d627">I am not suggesting that each of the powerful founders of these businesses is a victim of bullying, but as nerds, the chances are far higher. For example, Elon Musk had rocks thrown at him at school and was <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-was-lonely-2013-12?r=US&IR=T">bullied so severely</a> his parents moved him to a school 20 miles away.</p><p id="6d48">The unfortunate thing about bullying is that the <a href="https://www.parentingscience.com/bully-victims.html">victims of bullying</a> tend to become bullies themselves. Bill Gates was a notorious <a href="http://do our formative yers impact us in later life">office bully</a> during Microsoft’s heyday in the 80s and 90s. As a <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20161225224631/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2000/12/31/alter-egos/91b267b0-858c-4d4e-a4bd-48f22e015f70/">victim of bullying</a> himself, did one lead to the other?</p><p id="e9dc">Even if these tech lords weren’t bullied, as nerds, they would have been those social outcasts who were ostracised and exist on the social periphery.</p><p id="57ff">It is by no means their fault that they were social outcasts or bullied as children. It is their brilliance that makes them

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different and means they struggled to identify with others, as much as others struggled to identify with them. And it is that uniqueness that has allowed them to create such brilliantly successful businesses.</p><h2 id="b7ee">The kings of the jungle</h2><p id="26de">Technology has provided a platform for the super nerd to become enormously successful. We tend to base success solely on how much money people have, and today lots of men at the top of that tree are nerds. While being outcasts at school, they are revered and respected like they are the kings of the jungle as adults.</p><p id="d6c8">But, how much do their formative years impact them? Many of the experiences we have in our <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/fixing-families/201903/4-key-ways-your-childhood-shapes-you">formative years shape us as adults</a>, so if nerds are treated as social outcasts, or worse, are the victims of bullying, how does this impact them when the cards are turned? Their childhoods were defined by not fitting in, and now as adults, they have a massive influence.</p><p id="2e3f">The problem is that the feeling of rejection is so embedded that no matter what they do, no matter how many billions they get, that social outcast, the bullied child, is still locked up inside. They may cage it, but it’s there, lurking in the background.</p><p id="5557">Some of these men could be haunted by their childhood years. That’s what makes it dangerous that they have such enormous power. If they are the product of bullying, they may still desire to get back at the bullies. No person should yield such power, particularly those who may have had a troubled childhood. When you allow individuals to have so much power, it just might express itself in the darkest of ways.</p></article></body>

Nerds have come into their element in the age of technology

Brutally powerful, hyper agile, enormously strong, the king of the jungle is a force to be reckoned with. Lions are synonymous with power; they are the leaders of the pack and have all the attributes needed to protect a pride of lions. Nerds don’t come to mind as natural-born leaders. While being hyper-intelligent, they are socially awkward and do not inspire confidence in others. Yet, many of the founders of technology giants are nerds who have enormous power and influence.

There is a danger with so many nerds wielding so much power. The reason?

If you look at Amazon, Google, Facebook, Microsoft — these technological giants have more than one thing in common. They were founded by incredibly intelligent men such as Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, Sergey Brin, Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk, who are super nerds.

So what’s the big deal?

Well, as harsh as it sounds, the thing about nerds is that stereotypes aren’t born out of thin air. If we think about the cool kids at school, invariably, a jock comes to mind. Jocks are great at sport, good looking, charismatic, popular. The person everyone wants to either be like or to hang out with.

Nerds are on the other side of the spectrum. They are socially awkward, shy, reserved, the people everyone would rather not be like, and will go out of their way to avoid.

A struggle in your formative years

At school, nerds are social outcasts. Whether it be due to their intelligence or other factors, nerds struggle for acceptance and are often the victims of bullying. They are called nerds for a reason — they don’t fit in and are not part of the cool group at school.

I am not suggesting that each of the powerful founders of these businesses is a victim of bullying, but as nerds, the chances are far higher. For example, Elon Musk had rocks thrown at him at school and was bullied so severely his parents moved him to a school 20 miles away.

The unfortunate thing about bullying is that the victims of bullying tend to become bullies themselves. Bill Gates was a notorious office bully during Microsoft’s heyday in the 80s and 90s. As a victim of bullying himself, did one lead to the other?

Even if these tech lords weren’t bullied, as nerds, they would have been those social outcasts who were ostracised and exist on the social periphery.

It is by no means their fault that they were social outcasts or bullied as children. It is their brilliance that makes them different and means they struggled to identify with others, as much as others struggled to identify with them. And it is that uniqueness that has allowed them to create such brilliantly successful businesses.

The kings of the jungle

Technology has provided a platform for the super nerd to become enormously successful. We tend to base success solely on how much money people have, and today lots of men at the top of that tree are nerds. While being outcasts at school, they are revered and respected like they are the kings of the jungle as adults.

But, how much do their formative years impact them? Many of the experiences we have in our formative years shape us as adults, so if nerds are treated as social outcasts, or worse, are the victims of bullying, how does this impact them when the cards are turned? Their childhoods were defined by not fitting in, and now as adults, they have a massive influence.

The problem is that the feeling of rejection is so embedded that no matter what they do, no matter how many billions they get, that social outcast, the bullied child, is still locked up inside. They may cage it, but it’s there, lurking in the background.

Some of these men could be haunted by their childhood years. That’s what makes it dangerous that they have such enormous power. If they are the product of bullying, they may still desire to get back at the bullies. No person should yield such power, particularly those who may have had a troubled childhood. When you allow individuals to have so much power, it just might express itself in the darkest of ways.