The results from the latest 2011 Lemelson–MIT Invention Index are in and good news: Young people say that you don’t have to be a nerd to be an inventor! Here are some highlights:

57% of young people think that creativity best describes an inventor, outranking intelligent, problem solver, works in a technical field, nerdy and quirky.

38% of respondents think that inventors work “at home or in their garage” rather than at a small company or start-up, a large company, a college or university, or elsewhere.

Japan outranks the U.S. in terms of countries leading the way in invention, according to 57% of respondents. 32% ranked the U.S. first, still a much higher percentage than other countries.