alt.nerd.obsessive

paul graham's why nerds are unpopular has been making the rounds. i apparently went to a strange high school that didn't rise to the level of feral locker-stuffing horror that seems to be the more common experience. or i was just totally oblivious to it. paul seems to presume a universal desire for popularity that i guess i never really bought into. this bit is pure gold, though:

In general, people outside some very demanding field don't realize the extent to which success depends on constant (though often unconscious) effort. For example, most people seem to consider the ability to draw as some kind of innate quality, like being tall. In fact, most people who "can draw" like drawing, and have spent many hours doing it; that's why they're good at it.