This in-depth NY Times Magazine article describes the lives of students on the “Intel track” at Midwood High School in Brooklyn. Carrying full schedules of advanced classes and research work with actual scientists, these teenagers work towards the prestige of a finalist spot in the Intel Science Talent Search (formerly Westinghouse). The premise of the article is that today’s science geeks are earning new respect in a world of startup millionaires, where previously the students who entered science fairs were badly dressed nerds with “clueless social instincts”. I don’t know what it was like during the author’s school years, but 15 years ago my high school had smart, socially aware, fashionable students who did this kind of stuff. I don’t see this as a new trend. Granted, I was in an upper middle class community, which may have made a difference. The new potential for a very profitable future probably does lend more of a cachet to the science geeks these days.