Wednesday, August 30, 2006
WHY NERDS ARE UNPOPULAR
Dear Samuel,
Here's another Paul Graham essay. The title is 'Why Nerds Are Unpopular". I'm not saying you're a nerd or anything. It's just a good read if you get a chance. Here's a quote from about halfway through the essay:
If I could go back and give my thirteen year old self some advice, the main thing I'd tell him would be to stick his head up and look around. I didn't really grasp it at the time, but the whole world we lived in was as fake as a Twinkie....
And as for the schools, they were just holding pens within this fake world. Officially the purpose of schools is to teach kids. In fact their primary purpose is to keep kids locked up in one place for a big chunk of the day so adults can get things done. And I have no problem with this: in a specialized industrial society, it would be a disaster to have kids running around loose.
It's a wide world out there grasshopper.
Jay
Here's another Paul Graham essay. The title is 'Why Nerds Are Unpopular". I'm not saying you're a nerd or anything. It's just a good read if you get a chance. Here's a quote from about halfway through the essay:
If I could go back and give my thirteen year old self some advice, the main thing I'd tell him would be to stick his head up and look around. I didn't really grasp it at the time, but the whole world we lived in was as fake as a Twinkie....And as for the schools, they were just holding pens within this fake world. Officially the purpose of schools is to teach kids. In fact their primary purpose is to keep kids locked up in one place for a big chunk of the day so adults can get things done. And I have no problem with this: in a specialized industrial society, it would be a disaster to have kids running around loose.
It's a wide world out there grasshopper.
Jay
