It's not immediately obvious that Silicon Valley — an island of science and reason in a country overrun by alien abductees, jabbering Pentecostals and creationists — would fall for Tony Robbins. But there are six reasons why the motivational speaker is attracting a following, including San Francisco's enduring attachment to new-age cults, and the geek's enduring adulation of the charismatic high-school jock. For the full list:

1. TED. I blame the organizers of Technology, Entertainment, Design, the annual spring mind-expander in Monterey for technology execs, and those seeking their money. TED tries to mix it up, by inviting, this year, Tony Robbins. (The video follows at the base of the page.) But they should have known better. There were Valley people there, who'd never seen presenters more charismatic than Steve Case; Robbins overloaded their circuits.

2. Jock worship. Tony Robbins is the ultimate high-school jock: 6'7" tall, broad, charismatic. He's the archetype of a high-school jock, maybe one of the ones who could have bullied the geeks into doing his homework, but didn't. The geeks, no matter how successful they become, never ever quite leave high school behind. Wrote 5'9" Mark Pincus of Tribe, the online classifieds site: Tony Robbins is an impressive man and a real leader and I'm someone who previously thought he was a cheesy infomercial peddling guy in hawaiin shirts. I will definitely go to one of his events. Clear we can all learn a lot from him about our own growth and transformation.

3. Greed. Just take a look at some of the motivational speaker's slogans. Unleash The Financial Genius Within You. Produce immediate cash flow. Don't let MILLIONS OF DOLLARS slip through your fingers. We'll help you get VERY RICH. Need I write more?

4. Salespeople. Silicon Valley may like to think of itself as the office park that geeks built. But the high-tech salesman is equally emblematic of the industry's culture, and Robbins speaks to them. Look at Robbins' leading acolytes: Marc Benioff, the Oracle tchotke marketer who founded an online contacts book for salespeople; and Sandy Montenegro, worked for Siebel Systems before she became a fixture on San Francisco society pages, or what passes for them.

5. Cults. San Francisco, home to the Manson Family, has always fallen for them. Let's take, for example, Marc Benioff, a fourth-generation native of the city, as he likes to boast, has cycled through gurus as often as he's slacked on his yoga regime. Dalai Lama, make way, for Tony Robbins.

6. Sleeplessness. One Valleywag reader submits: Re: Tony Robbins' popularity in the Valley. Could it be that they are all insomniacs and are therefore over-exposed to late-night TV infomercials?

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