Chapter 1

Summary

nerds are unpopular in high school, not because they don't want to be, but because they care more about being smart and pursuing higher intellectual goals than being popular.

school is equivalently a prison, or at the tamest, a holding center for young kids
teenagers/children are cruel by nature

i don't think that kids are generally THAT cruel, though my memory is foggy. moreover, i disagree with the notion that nerds can't or won't be popular if they don't want to, or that they will be subject to ostracization and punishment from other children, particularly in high school. i think that the smartest nerds or children can simultaneously achieve a level of popularity that will insulate them from ostracization or bullying but also allow them to achieve their intellectual goals. i don't believe it's a zero-sum game and i fundamentally believe that nerds, with their unfathomable intelligence CAN navigate the social turmoils of school if they so choose to do so.

nerds are unpopular in high school, not because they don't want to be, but because they care more about being smart and pursuing higher intellectual goals than being popular.

school is equivalently a prison, or at the tamest, a holding center for young kids
teenagers/children are cruel by nature

i don't think that kids are generally THAT cruel, though my memory is foggy. moreover, i disagree with the notion that nerds can't or won't be popular if they don't want to, or that they will be subject to ostracization and punishment from other children, particularly in high school. i think that the smartest nerds or children can simultaneously achieve a level of popularity that will insulate them from ostracization or bullying but also allow them to achieve their intellectual goals. i don't believe it's a zero-sum game and i fundamentally believe that nerds, with their unfathomable intelligence CAN navigate the social turmoils of school if they so choose.