Nerds serve two masters. They want to be popular, certainly, but they want even more to be smart. And popularity is not something you can do in your spare time, not in the fiercely competitive environment of an American secondary school. —Paul Graham

—Why Nerds are Unpopular (Wired)

This popular raced through the blogging community back in Feb. 2003. Looks like Graham sold that essay as part of a collection, which Wired has excerpted. More evidence that giving your stuff away online for free can lead to paying contracts. Good for him.

The essay is a good read.