MemeMachineGo!

I recently saw a promo for a reality TV show called “Beauty and the Geek.” Looking it up on Wikipedia, I see this will be its third season. The premise is:

Each season, 8 “beauties” (young women who have relied primarily on their looks thus far in life) and 8 “geeks” (young men who have relied primarily on intellect and are socially awkward) are paired up to compete against the other 7 couples for $250,000 and other prizes. Each beauty lives together in a room with her geek during the course of the competition. There is a competition during each episode, after which one couple is eliminated.

It’s international now — the British version has the same title; the literal translations of the Norwegian, Italian and Estonian versions are “The Princess and the Professor,” “The Doll and the Nerd,” and “The Beauty and the Genius.”

The Wikipedia entry includes a capsule description of the geeks’ geek cred, a lot of which is, frankly, boring. “MIT graduate” “Mensa member.” “Computer programmer.” But then there’s “Rubik’s Cube Record Holder,” “Speed Chess Champion,” and, my favorite, “Tracks Monkeys With Lasers!”

Now that’s a handy skill.