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"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. It also delves into the topic of high school's purported purpose and its failure to carry out that stated goal. February is the second month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ...
2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
An essay is a short work that treats a topic from an authors personal point of view, often taking into account subjective experiences and personal reflections upon them. ...
Computer programming (often simply programming or coding) is the craft of writing a set of commands or instructions that can later be compiled and/or interpreted and then inherently transformed to an executable that an electronic machine can execute or run. Programming requires mainly logic, but has elements of science...
Paul Graham For Paul Graham the photographer, see Paul Graham (photographer). ...
Intelligence is the mental capacity to reason, plan, solve problems, think abstractly, comprehend ideas and language, and learn. ...
Synopsis
Graham proposes that "nerds," defined by him as people who are not "socially adept enough," do not really want to be popular; instead, they would rather be smart. Being popular demands constant attention to fashion, personal appearance, and scrutinizing detail to one's actions, or as he states, conformity; this fact, he claims, fails to register with nerds, who believe popularity is thrust upon an individual, not something worked towards. Nerds, he proposes, have other interests that occupy their time. Look up nerd in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...
The term fashion usually applies to a prevailing mode of expression, but quite often applies to a personal mode of expression that may or may not adhere to prevailing ideals. ...
In psychology, conformity is the degree to which members of a group will change their behavior, views and attitudes to fit the views of the group. ...
In elementary school, children are preoccupied with family, paying little attention to the opinions of peers. In middle school, children become less family-oriented in an attempt to become individuals. These teenagers, now thrust into an unfamiliar and perhaps frightening place, create their own society, one he compares with that of William Golding's Lord of the Flies. Sir William Gerald Golding (September 19, 1911 – June 19, 1993) was a British novelist, poet and winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature (1983), best known for his work Lord of the Flies. ...
Lord of the Flies is an allegorical novel by Nobel Prize-winning author William Golding about a group of young boys who are stranded on a desert island and subsequently attempt to govern themselves, a task at which they fail disastrously. ...
In school, nerds are actively sought out as targets. The upper echelon of the student body, the most popular kids, rarely pick on nerds; instead, it is those situated in the "middle" who feel the need to up their status by picking on a "common enemy" and forming alliances with others in the same position. Nerds are easy targets for everyone; among the most cruel to nerds are those slightly above them socially, something he likens to poor whites being the most hostile to blacks.
Graham draws several comparisons between prisons and schools. He equates public school teachers with prison wardens; their main goals being to keep their subjects on the premises, feed them, and prevent them from killing each other. He draws parallels between each institution's hierarchy as well. In both systems, the bottom of the pecking order harbors harsh environments. Graham also feels that schools are nothing more than large-scale nurseries, a place to keep kids while their parents are at work in an industrialized nation. Teenagers, who in former times were utilized as apprentices, today are useless to adults and the adult world. Although apprentices were not completely useful until their apprenticeship was complete, even new ones could perform minor tasks to help their teacher. Additionally, the work done in high school, mainly memorization and recollection of facts, has little bearing on work done during adulthood. A teachers room in a Japanese middle school, 2005. ...
If youre looking for the TV show, see The Apprentice. ...
Nerds, he argues, are the most affected by the inability of the school to fully foster education and the creation of "fake" societies within. Similar to their neighborhoods, normally isolated suburbs where their parents moved them for protection from inner city perversion, schools thrive on pettiness and obedience. However, graduation ends most suffering. Their former bullies, now adults, are subject to consequences for their actions, if indeed their behavior did in fact reflect personality problems (an alternative theory is that one or both parties are the ones with the personality problems). Additionally, some semblance of maturity has kicked in. 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. It has been suggested that Workplace bullying be merged into this article or section. ...
Criticism Heavily linked to by the weblog "Why Nerds are Unpopular," Graham has received a decent amount of feedback. Some claim their school was not like that, while others claim being smart and nerdy are not directly comparable. Neurological differences have been proposed, as well as public school inadequacy. Finally, some have responded that nerds simply deserve the label due to their awkwardness and weak social skills. Graham responds to some of the feedback with "Re: Why Nerds are Unpopular." To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...
Neurology is a branch of medicine dealing with disorders of the nervous system. ...
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