The New Cool: A Call to Arms

I sat and thought long and hard about it, because I wanted to be sure. I asked friends. I flew from city to city and wandered the streets. I phoned random people at odd hours of the day. I drew up a pie chart, and then a bar graph, and then a Venn diagram. And then, just to be sure, I Googled it.

Turns out that my suspicions were confirmed after all: Smart really is the new cool. What a relief.

You see, the tide has turned in the past ten years. For a long time, if you were lazy and mean-spirited and you wanted to make yourself feel better about it, you could just sling derogatory words at the people around you and quickly bring them down to your level. For a long time, calling someone a '˜nerd' or a '˜geek' would make that person feel bad. It might even make them want to dumb down in order to fit in.

But things have changed, my friends. A new day is upon us. Today's young people are finally beginning to understand, in a way that many of their parents and older siblings never did, that there's nothing wrong with trying to be your best. Not necessarily perfect, just the best version of yourself.

Look at it this way: If you get sick and your life is on the line, who do you want treating you in the hospital? Someone who spent a decade learning every last detail about medicine, or someone who slept through biology class and doesn't know the difference between a scone and a scalpel? If you had the chance to play the newest video game, would you want the one designed by a math genius who dedicates his time to learning about graphic interface concepts or by someone who spends his time watching re-runs of The Hills on MTV? If you could have your choice between six-pack abs or a big, flabby beer belly, which would you prefer?

Well, all of those choices '“ the smart doctor, the cool video game designer and the rock-hard abs '“ are the result of making smart decisions and sticking with them. Do you think Steve Jobs (the man responsible for Mac computers, the iPod and the iPhone) cares that people called him a nerd in high school? Probably not. I'm sure he's too busy counting his millions, driving around in cool cars and living in mansions. Doesn't seem so nerdy now, does he?

The truth is that for most of human history, being smart has been cool. Sure, we went through a period here in America where calling someone a geek may have embarrassed them into dumbing down and underachieving. But as I travel the country talking with kids about my book series, or about my radio show, or about my Big Brain Club '“ all of which, by the way, are the result of a love of learning '“ I've noticed that in the 21st century, the truly cool kids are no longer the ones sitting in the back of the room, goofing off and calling people names. No, the cool kids today are the ones who realize that when it comes to being smart or being cool, there's never actually been a need to choose between the two. Why can't you be both?

Let me put that differently, and I want you think about it before you answer: Why can't YOU be both?

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