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Why Nerds Are Unpopular (2003)

paulgraham.com

11–20 of 76 posts

Re: Why Nerds Are Unpopular (2003)

#11
If you've ever spent 5 minutes talking to a programming (most likely a nerd), you don't need an article to tell you why they're unpopular. From my experience, most nerds are completely condescending and complete assholes.

Maybe it's time us nerds to look at ourselves and take a little blame instead of shifting it off to everyone else.

Re: Why Nerds Are Unpopular (2003)

#12
Fast forward fourteen years from when this was posted, and now everyone is a self proclaimed "nerd" of something. Half naked women on Instagram, holding video game controllers, while attending a sold out ComicCon.

Re: Why Nerds Are Unpopular (2003)

#13
It took me too long to realise that a lot of the popular kids where also smart.

They just had social skills as well.

It's much easier to tell yourself that other people don't like you because you are smarter than them than it is to work on yourself.

Re: Why Nerds Are Unpopular (2003)

#15
post #5

This article is in the same vein as that execrable Lisp article that showed up today: "Alas, poor brilliant misunderstood me, cursed by my genius and unwillingness to ~play the silly games of the lesser people who surround me~"

Part and parcel with the Californian Ideology.

Re: Why Nerds Are Unpopular (2003)

#16
post #5

This article is in the same vein as that execrable Lisp article that showed up today: "Alas, poor brilliant misunderstood me, cursed by my genius and unwillingness to ~play the silly games of the lesser people who surround me~"

Did you finish the article?? It starts as a "poor me" article, but it analyzes the systems that generate the experience.

> As far as I can tell, the concept of the hormone-crazed teenager is coeval with suburbia. I don't think this is a coincidence. I think teenagers are driven crazy by the life they're made to lead. Teenage apprentices in the Renaissance were working dogs. Teenagers now are neurotic lapdogs. Their craziness is the craziness of the idle everywhere.

Re: Why Nerds Are Unpopular (2003)

#17

If you've ever spent 5 minutes talking to a programming (most likely a nerd), you don't need an article to tell you why they're unpopular. From my experience, most nerds are completely condescending and complete assholes. Maybe it's time us nerds to look at ourselves and take a little blame instead of shifting it off to everyone else.

You are an idiot.

Re: Why Nerds Are Unpopular (2003)

#18
post #9

There's an awful lot of over-generalization here. This would be more convincing with some empirical data.

Like what? "23.478% of male nerds don't have girlfriends", "studies have shown nerds to be in the 20% percentile of popularity", etc?

Re: Why Nerds Are Unpopular (2003)

#19
post #6
post #5

This article is in the same vein as that execrable Lisp article that showed up today: "Alas, poor brilliant misunderstood me, cursed by my genius and unwillingness to ~play the silly games of the lesser people who surround me~"

"I was too busy studying to be popular!" > Few smart kids can spare the attention that popularity requires. Just like all those quarterbacks who were too busy with football practice to waste any time honing their social skills. Oh wait...

Training for a team sport probably involves social skills to some degree.

Re: Why Nerds Are Unpopular (2003)

#20

Fast forward fourteen years from when this was posted, and now everyone is a self proclaimed "nerd" of something. Half naked women on Instagram, holding video game controllers, while attending a sold out ComicCon.

Meanwhile, the actual nerds are still as unpopular as ever. It's just that the niche comic book culture spun off blockbuster action movies -- and everybody plays videogames. But the actual over-studying, learning minutiae, having isolating hobbies, being introverted, etc, part is not shared.
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