Inherit the Earth? The Meek or the Geek? 2

Alexandra Robbins’ The Geeks Shall Inherit the Earth: Popularity, Quirk Theory, and Why Outsiders Thrive After High School examines “quirk theory.” That is, it examines the regular observation that the very things that excluded some kids from the popular and prep groups in high school is what made the same excluded kids successful in later life.

So what is popularity? Ever think about this one? What do you think?

Here’s what Robbins says: it involves visibility and recognizability and being influential. It thus involves perceived status. But it does mean that a person is liked.

A feature of many popular people is being mean. That is, popular kids participate in both overt aggression and alternative forms of aggression (social and relational).  High social status often comes to those with aggressive behaviors — while aggressiveness used to be devalued as part of social misfits, it is now seen as part of how folks climb toward status. Young kids often maintain status by meanness — treating others as equals is a way of losing status.

How does this view of popularity relate to theological groups or beliefs? Sometimes popularity means conservative, traditional and … well, right … and other times the traditional view is in need of change and it has become a sign of popularity instead of truth. Thoughts? I’m thinking David Fitch’s study of ideology (inerrant Bible, decisionism, Christian nation) can be examined through this set of ideas.

One of the chps in this book surprises — I thought it was about students but discovered it was about teachers in public schools. That is, some public school teachers behave in similar forms of status formation as high school students.

Robbins discusses something called “group polarization.” That is, some groups form judgments that are more extreme than the individuals in that tribe personally have. How so? Individuals are exposed to the group’s view and feel pressure to conform and so express judgment in a way that gains that group’s further approval. I’ve seen this in theology, and any time you see really heated emotion about someone’s ideas watch for group polarization at work. Where it is often seen is not so much in the leaders but in the followers (lesser known, lesser status) who expand the negative judgment of the leaders and group. Group think, then, involves individuals surrendering private judgment to group judgment.

All of this to say that it is good not to be in a group because it takes courage to resist being popular and courage to form one’s judgment without group approval. (Of course, this can become imbalanced into radical individualism.) Conformity is a cop-out, and Robbins sketches some brain theories that show non conformity triggers fear in the brain (amygdala).  So she sketches seven characteristics of the non-conformist, the cafeteria fringe, and that show the viability of quirk theory:

1. Creativity, originality
2. Freethinking, vision
3. Resilience
4. Authenticity, self-awareness
5. Integrity, candor
6. Curiosity, love of learning, passion
7. Courage