Wow great article thanks for the link. I don't know if I agree with the statement that nerds are separated from the pack by some sort of seperate value system. I remember all the middle-upper class kids that were attractive were automatically popular unless there was something very abnormal about them. Life is pretty harsh, if you are awkward or funny looking you START off placed in a box, which makes it much more likely over time to find comfort in a book/computer rather than "being like everybody else."

I think that a large component of feeling like you ended up with a different mindset due to "innate desire" is rationalization after being kicked out of the herd.

That essay, and the one about creating value are the two best in the collection.

Schools really are a solution to the problem of what to do with kids all day. It's barbaric but it's not going anywhere.

This essay is just precious. A quote which sums it up very well is: If you leave a bunch of eleven-year-olds to their own devices, what you get is Lord of the Flies.