Re: Need Latin for "Geek" or "Nerd"
I think it has all to do with the demise of Classical education, and the pursuit of learning, knowledge & wisdom just for the sake of themselves altogether. We do not cherish these values anymore like in former times, especially in the Classical era of the Ancients. Our Western culture is becoming more and more decadent, intent upon consumptionism, consumerism, sports, materialism, etc...I suggest two very good books upon this deplorable, but very true subject: 1) From Dawn to Decadence by Jacques Barzun, 2) Who Killed Homer by Hanson and Heath.
In fact, I shall quote an essential paragraph from the latter: "The death of Homer means an erasure of an entire way of looking at the world, a way diametrically opposite to the new gods that now drive America: therapeutics, moral relativism, blind allegiance to progress, and the glorification of material culture. The loss of Classical learning and the Classical spirit as an antidote to the toxin of popular culture has been grievous to America, and it can be sensed in the rise of almost everything antithetical to Greek ideas and values: the erosion of the written and spoken word; the rise of commitments, both oral and written, that are not binding; the search for material and sensual gratification in place of spiritual growth and sacrifice; the growing conformity of urban city life at the expense of the individual and the ethos of individualism; ahistoricism and a complete surrender to the present; the demise of the middle class."
I hope this gives you enough food for thought.
