Fun_People Archive
24 Sep
QOTD - Stephenson, 9/24/99

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From: Peter Langston <psl>
Date: Fri, 24 Sep 99 19:35:32 -0700
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Subject: QOTD - Stephenson, 9/24/99

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Chester nods all the way through this, but does not rudely interrupt Randy
as a young nerd would.  Your younger nerd takes offense quickly when someone
near him begins to utter declarative sentences, because he reads into it an
assertion that he, the nerd, does not already know the information being
imparted.  But your older nerd has more self-confidence, and besides,
understands that frequently people need to think out loud.  And highly
advanced nerds will furthermore understand that uttering declarative
sentences whose contents are already known to all present is part of the
social process of making conversation and therefore should not be construed
as aggression under any circumstances.
		-- Neal Stephenson, "Cryptonomicon"

© 1999 Peter Langston