Why nerds are unpopular

I didn't do much LJing at all yesterday, in an effort to get some work done. I shall do another Satanbucks trip later and fight with making this code compile, but in the meantime, here's a fascinating essay (very long and somewhat US centric in places) about the horror of schools :

Why Nerds are Unpopular - Paul Graham

Adults can't avoid seeing that teenage kids are tormented. So why don't they do something about it? Because they blame it on puberty. The reason kids are so unhappy, adults tell themselves, is that monstrous new chemicals, hormones, are now coursing through their bloodstream and messing up everything. [...]

I'm suspicious of this theory that thirteen year old kids are intrinsically messed up. If it's physiological, it should be universal. Are Mongol nomads all nihilists at thirteen?

Doubtless I'll update this LJ with more links later, as I am wont to do...

UULP 1: and here's the first: Jay Wiseman's Ten Tips for the Novice, Single,
Heterosexual, Submissive Woman
UULP 2: Hand-typed transcript of the Marie Claire article on polyamory (and discussion in londonpolybis

UULP 3:
February 25 at 8:00PM at Filmhouse Cafe-Bar, 88 Lothian Road, Edinburgh