Understanding Nerd-dom
Yet again, I’ve followed a link to another of Paul Graham’s wonderful essays. This one’s about “nerds” and their lack of popularity.
Anyhow, he presents some really deep aspects of this whole society called a “high school” — whatever that is. I have to say that this is the first article of his that I can’t really relate to. One reason: I go to a Jesuit high school, where such social organization isn’t quite that rampant — or, at least, is much less obvious. Second: I don’t know if I would really classify myself as a nerd. Of course, the term “nerd” is just a tad-bit outdated. So why does this matter so much to me that I’m blogging about it? Hmm, DJ?
Well, really, I just liked this paragraph, and I agreed with it wholeheatedly:
A lot of people seem to think it’s good for smart kids to be thrown together with ‘normal’ kids at this stage of their lives. Perhaps. But in at least some cases the reason the nerds don’t fit in actually is that everyone else is crazy. I remember sitting in the audience at a ‘pep rally’ at my high school, watching as the cheerleaders threw an effigy of an opposing player into the audience to be torn to pieces. I felt like an explorer witnessing some bizarre tribal ritual.
Couldn’t’ve stated it better myself.
Perhaps I am a “nerd” after all. Hehe, must be so, since I spent so long creating the code that made this possible.
Maybe I should reiterate. Take a look at this.