Why Nerds are Unpopular
paulgraham.comSaved by Ajinkya Wadhwa and
Why Nerds are Unpopular
Now consider our current situation. Despite all the language professing otherwise, in general the education system of the United States is based entirely on genetic determinism. A child is born assumed to have innate traits, including, for example, a preference as to what they want to be when they grow up (somehow just waiting fully-formed inside o... See more
Erik Hoel • Why We Stopped Making Einsteins
"We teach every young person the same subjects in mostly the same ways, irrespective of individual talents and preferences. Students who don’t learn best by sitting still at a desk are made to feel somehow inferior, while children who excel on conventional measures like tests and assignments end up defining their identities in terms of this weirdly... See more
Peter Thiel • Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future
sari added
Good students, but nerds—that is, they are like computers except slower. Further, they are now totally untrained to handle ambiguity.
Nassim Nicholas Taleb • Incerto 4-Book Bundle
Probably the biggest lie told in schools, though, is that the way to succeed is through following "the rules." In fact most such rules are just hacks to manage large groups efficiently.
Paul Graham • Lies We Tell Kids
Daniel Wentsch added
But I think that misfits and iconoclasts are also more likely to become hackers.
Paul Graham • Hackers & Painters: Big Ideas from the Computer Age
Still, starting from these specialized roots and then moving on to write for more general audiences, I’ve come to believe that these narrow extremes still somehow embody broad truths. Too many of us undervalue concentration, and substitute busyness for real productivity, and are quick to embrace whatever new techno-bauble shines brightest. You don’
... See more