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Topic: Why Nerds are Unpopular

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	Wired 12.12: VIEW
		I know a lot of people who were nerds in school, and they all tell the same story: There is a strong correlation between being smart and being a nerd, and an even stronger inverse correlation between being a nerd and being popular.
		Nerds would find their unpopularity more bearable if it merely caused them to be ignored.
		Unfortunately, to be unpopular in school is to be actively persecuted.
	www.wired.com /wired/archive/12.12/view.html?pg=2?tw=wn_tophead_7 (749 words)

	Why Nerds are Unpopular
		The popular kids learned to be popular, and to want to be popular, the same way the nerds learned to be smart, and to want to be smart: from their parents.
		A woman I know says that in high school she liked nerds, but was afraid to be seen talking to them because the other girls would make fun of her.
		Unpopularity is a communicable disease; kids too nice to pick on nerds will still ostracize them in self-defense.
	paulgraham.com /nerds.html (5231 words)

	The Old Joel on Software Forum - Paul Graham's "Why Nerds are Unpopular" - the best
		Nerds become nerds because they bray like a horse when laughing, or because they're the stinky kid, or because they're so clumsy they can't even dribble a basketball (much less actually catch a football), or because they're runt small.
		I think most nerds are some kind of social failures and compensate for that with an obsession for technology, to make up for their lack of social skills.
		Nerds are unpopular because they are preoccupied with stuff that is of little interest to others.
	discuss.fogcreek.com /joelonsoftware/default.asp?cmd=show&ixPost=144915 (0 words)

	Re: Why Nerds are Unpopular
		Many people have written to me about Why Nerds are Unpopular, and many more seem to be posting about it on various Web sites.
		Indeed, one of the most characteristic nerd flaws is an addiction to newsgroup posting.
		One of the points of Why Nerds are Unpopular is that smart kids are unpopular because they don't waste their time on the dumb stuff you need to do to be popular.
	www.paulgraham.com /renerds.html (1107 words)

	Why Nerds are Unpopular: Definition and Links by Encyclopedian.com
		Why Nerds are Unpopular, published February of 2003, is an essay by Paul Graham that examines an apparent correlation between intelligence and unpopularity in American secondary schools.
		Nerds are easy targets for everyone; among the most cruel to nerds are those slightly above them socially, something he analogizes with poor whites being the most hostile to fls.
		Nerds, he argues, are the most affected by the inability of the school to fully foster education and the creation of "fake" societies within.
	www.encyclopedian.com /wh/Why-Nerds-are-Unpopular.html (628 words)

	Why Nerds are Unpopular
		"Why Nerds are Unpopular," published February 2003, is an essay by computer programmer Paul Graham that examines an apparent correlation between intelligence and unpopularity in American secondary schools.
		Lastly, nerds, who were forced into cohabitation with people who shared vastly dissimilar interests, can group together, forming clans where intelligence is something to be proud of.
		Heavily linked to by the weblog "Why Nerds are Unpopular," Graham has received a decent amount of feedback.
	www.xasa.com /wiki/en/wikipedia/w/wh/why_nerds_are_unpopular.html (604 words)

	Why Nerds are Unpopular
		I know a lot of people who were nerds in school, and they all tell the same story: there is a strong correlation between being smart and being a nerd, and an even stronger inverse correlation between being a nerd and being popular.
		Nerds would find their unpopularity more bearable if it merely caused them to be ignored.
		Unpopularity is a communicable disease; kids too nice to pick on nerds will still ostracize them in self-defense.
	www.paulgraham.com /nerds.html (5242 words)

	Mindsack » Blog Archive » Just What Kind of Nerd Are You, Anyway?
		Graham's essays "Why Nerds Are Unpopular" and "What You'll Wish You'd Known" may be found in his wonderful book Hackers & Painters: Big Ideas from the Computer Age and are required reading for anyone who's ever a) felt like a nerd or b) wondered why nerds are so different.
		This is a shame, because the second-best therapy for Dorks involves straight talk from their fellow nerds, who are uniquely suited to deliver it, assuming of course they can maintain eye contact and not start blabbering about the superiority of vi over emacs.
		Although some nerds begin to Geek Out as early as kindergarten, it's generally because of a strong genetic predisposition and heavy exposure to an adult Geek in the home and not something more serious, such as Asperger's syndrome, which has been diagnosed in a wildly disproportionate percentage of the kids in places like Silicon Valley.
	www.mindsack.com /?p=22 (1188 words)

	Why Nerds Are Unpopular (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-28)
		And that's why smart people's lives tend to be worst between, say, the ages of eleven and seventeen.
		Out in the real world, nerds collect in certain places and form their own societies where intelligence is the most important thing.
		Any immediate improvement in nerds' lives is probably going to have to come from the nerds themselves.
	www.phs.d211.org /idc/S8/nerds.htm (6421 words)

	Why Nerds Are Unpopular \| SOLO - Sense of Life Objectivists (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-28)
		Because of this smart kids are on the low end of the social totem pole, are victimized by the various tribal cliques that rule this social sphere and are generally miserable from grades 7 or 8-12.
		None of these kids knew who they were emulating or why, or what they meanings or uses of their clothes and accessories were.
		I was decidedly a "nerd," and decidedly not a part of the social "crowds" that developed.
	www.solopassion.com /node/1952 (2891 words)

	Why Nerds are Unpopular - .:: Bots United ::.
		Why Nerds are Unpopular -.:: Bots United ::.
		I just think that whole Nerd, Geek, Dweeb thing is just a social stereotype that some people pass down on other's because they have self-esteem issues they haven't made themselves aware of yet because it makes them feel thier superior.
		I am a nerd, I do admit that, but I should stress that I'm not as introspective as the examples he puts in the article.
	forums.bots-united.com /showthread.php?t=4183 (1300 words)

	Why Nerds are Unpopular
		Like Graham said, “nerds serve to masters, they want to be popular….but they want even more to be smart.” Just as being smart is a job, being popular is also a job that takes hard work and dedication.
		Nerds do have other things to think about and while the popular kids are thinking what are they going to wear the next day to school, the nerds are thinking bout what homework they have or studying for a test.
		Nerds to a certain point, know what they want to do in life.
	www.essaysworld.com /viewpapers/13488-Why_Nerds_are_Unpopular.html (278 words)

	Forgetful Muse: nerds and home education (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-28)
		What the author says about a "pep rally" he attended is a perfect illustration of why I found such activities as assemblies and singing the school song so repulsive that I just didn't go unless I was caught trying to escape and ushered in with the herd.
		Then there's the lingering guilt over having laughed along with others at the one kid who was lower on the social rung than I, even though I'd talked to her when no one was looking and thought she was nice, and even though I knew how it felt to be singled out.
		I would rather raise nerds than people pleasers, and for that, my kids are better off not subject to the barbarism that is public school.
	forgetfulmuse.blogspot.com /2007/07/nerds-and-home-education.html (0 words)

	Why Nerds are Unpopular \| MetaFilter
		The nerdy people in my high school were nerds because they were devoted to something, not just frittering away their days in high school with an especially bad attitude (I was in HS in the late 80's, early 90's, prime dissatisfied Gen X time).
		And as far as nerds having some high-minded aversion to "officially santioned victimisation", I've certainly never noticed in nerds a tendency to be merciful or understanding to people who less competent than they in the nerdly disciplines.
		The crux of the nerd forula is a lacking of the desire or ability to fit in, a condition which encourages behaviour that, unfortunately, usually ends up widening the gap rather than narrowing it.
	www.metafilter.com /comments.mefi/23636 (6094 words)

	craigBeck \| Why Nerds are Unpopular (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-28)
		Why Nerds are Unpopular - How much of your experience of middle/high school social interactions are with you today?
		Wow, that passage doesn’t even seem to be about nerds in particular, it really gets to the heart of pretty huge disconnect.
		No, those paragraphs are not particular to “the nerd problem”, but it does resonate with my personal experience and hence my supposedly warped adult view of the world.
	www.luckybonza.com /craigbeck/comments.php?id=129_0_1_0_C6 (307 words)

	Why Nerds Are Unpopular - SquareSound Forums (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-28)
		Why Nerds Are Unpopular - 06-07-2006, 08:58 PM While surfing the internet I came across this piece of writing which I found to be pretty interesting reading and quite insightful at times as well.
		I think half of the problem with nerds being accepted is that they themselves are so intolerant of the way that the popularity system works.
		Yes, a lot of the problem is in the system as well, but nerds are not entirely out of the blame for not being accepted.
	www.squaresound.com /forum/showthread.php?t=7369 (1570 words)

	- Fredrickville.com
		Out in the real world, nerds collect in certain places and form their own societies where intelligence is the most important thing.
		Freaks and nerds were allies, and there was a good deal of overlap between them.
		Nerds still in school should not hold their breath.
	www.fredrickville.com /boards/item.php?board=7&n=5 (0 words)

	Number 2 Pencil: The question of nerds
		Anyway, the link is an fascinating essay from last year about "Why Nerds are Unpopular." It's a long essay, and hard to quote from since it's all very good.
		Being unpopular in school makes kids miserable, some of them so miserable that they commit suicide...Of course I wanted to be popular.
		Nerds, as the author puts it, don't realize that being popular in high school is a job, and they don't put the work into that other kids might.
	www.kimberlyswygert.com /archives/002212.html (717 words)

	Battle for Wesnoth :: View topic - Why nerds are unpopular
		Unless nerds are in the majority (rare), they are likely to be judged by others, for the reasons detailed in that essay, as unpopular.
		And here is where I think the author is going: He's lumping all of the unpopular nerds into "the smartest" without having a reason other than they were unpopular, did better than most in school and didn't connect with others except for the nerd group.
		Nerds are just average people who have devoted their time to other things, like programming.
	www.wesnoth.org /forum/viewtopic.php?p=255489 (1715 words)

	Barnes & Noble.com - Books: Hackers and Painters, by Paul Graham, Paperback, First Edition
		He explains why nerds are unpopular even before they get rich and arrogant, and how they make so much money that they get dates despite their personalities.
		Graham's first chapter, "Why Nerds Are Unpopular," attempts to explain why smart children are at the bottom of the food chain in high school, and describes the dilemmas facing them when they are too young and unorganized to put their gifts into action.
		This book of essays runs the gamut from 'why nerds are unpopular' to fixing the spam problem to what makes a 'dream language'.
	search.barnesandnoble.com /booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?isbn=0596006624 (2815 words)

	The Old Joel on Software Forum - Calling all Nerds
		She was not a ditz at all, and she told me that she had some serious emotional issues dealing with the popularity she had.
		I hope my kid is goddam nerd; it's worked awesome for me--I'm going to be rich, and those dudes in high school are only going to get dumber and fatter from watching football on television while sucking down cans of Pabst.
		Now she's going to try private school, and we all agree that this will be perfect for her (she's shy and fairly fragile; public school would be a bit too much for her at this stage).
	discuss.fogcreek.com /joelonsoftware/default.asp?cmd=show&ixPost=29904 (0 words)

	Why Nerds are Unpopular [Long] - FreddysHouse
		I mean there were the "cool kids", but the requirements to be really cool were much lower at the time I was there (I think it's different now, but not as bad as on the "Hauptschule", mostly a pool of socially problematic kids).
		I think that the problem sometimes is, that the nerds are still kids, but they've taken over some responsability already.
		This exactly is the point where the nerds form, cause they realize somehow (like the author says, even without knowing themselves that they do), that there is more than some shallow values that will most likely not be of any importance later on.
	forums.freddyshouse.com /off-topic21/212636-why-nerds-unpopular-long.html (3035 words)

	LucasForums - Why nerds are unpopular (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-28)
		Yes there are the nerds and the Goths that noone "popular" really wants to talk to but in a sense, (now get this) if you look at it, NOONE in my school is popular or unpopular.
		You don't have to be a nerd to be bullied.
		C'Jais and I are nerds, not representative of the Danish youth (BTW: I'm 16).
	www.lucasforums.com /archive/index.php/t-92909.html (4416 words)

	Linuxart » Blog Archive » Why nerds are unpopular
		Look at the parents, and you will see why the child is the way he is, for the most part.
		In some cases, they are still easily identifiable as nerds and they are the happiest people God ever put on this earth.
		If any of you nerds out there are up for a career change, let me suggest teaching the little people.
	www.linuxart.com /log/archives/2003/02/17/why-nerds-are-unpopular (704 words)

	Sinner's Ark: Paul Graham - Why nerds are unpopular? (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-28)
		-Paul Graham is one of the rare breed of nerds who are able to express their thoughts in words, and then translate them into a written language simple enough to make others understand the complex thinking of his kind.
		He is the author for quite a few of my computer science textbooks, but the amazing part of Paul is his ability to put pen to paper, writing so well on social topics and the current computer world.
		Nerds are not born to be popular, they are born to be rich ;)
	www.sinark.com /archives/2004/08/paul_graham_-_w.html (477 words)

	"Why Nerds are Unpopular" [Archive] - INTP Central (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-28)
		i think this is why some smart people may be unpopular because athletic ability correlates to physical health, which correlates to physical attractiveness (which in grade school/high school is all important).
		Nerds at the school I used to attend were definentally the cool guys.
		I think 'nerds' 'popular kids' and 'jocks' are just cultural schemas that we have created, and thus have been molded into these categories growing up.
	www.intpcentral.com /forums/archive/index.php/t-916.html (5916 words)

	Why Nerds Are Unpopular -- Central Oklahoma Mensa
		Why Nerds Are Unpopular -- Central Oklahoma Mensa
		Look who I'm talking to… :-) Paul Graham, who admits to having been a nerd in school, has written an essay on why nerds are unpopular.
		Central Oklahoma Mensa is a local chapter of American Mensa, an organization for those who score in the top 2% in a standardized intelligence test.
	www.okmensa.org /archives/2003/02/21/320/index.html (119 words)

	Flutterby™! : Why nerds are unpopular 2003-02-19 08:54:43-08
		Yes, my nerd group had its share of Mensa members, but it wasn't just the popularity contest that we were losing.
		Living with a pair of teenaged nerd geeks gives me a different perspective on this than I had mumbledy-mumble decades ago when I was a teenaged nerd.
		They are decidedly not as unpopular as nerd geeks used to be.
	www.flutterby.com /archives/comments/5896.html (912 words)

	why nerds are unpopular - Amidst a tangled web (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-28)
		A few months ago a lunch discussion at work centered around bullies and nerds in school.
		The group consisted entirely of engineers and it seemed that all of us had been picked on in school, to one degree or another.
		This article in Wired Magazine provides insight into Why Nerds Are Unpopular.
	dan.hersam.com /2004/12/27/why-nerds-are-unpopular (187 words)

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