The Nerd And I

Five years have passed since Matthias Blaise left Earl Harrison. Earl's life changed drastically without him. He found a new job, a new lover, and a new life.But what will happen when Matthias suddenly comes back to claim him. Will Earl fall in love again with the same man who broke his heart five years ago?

How humans and technology evolve together in a creative partnership. In this book, Edward Ashford Lee makes a bold claim: that the creators of digital technology have an unsurpassed medium for creativity. Technology has advanced to the point where progress seems limited not by physical constraints but the human imagination. Writing for both literate technologists and numerate humanists, Lee makes a case for engineering—creating technology—as a deeply intellectual and fundamentally creative process. Explaining why digital technology has been so transformative and so liberating, Lee argues that the real power of technology stems from its partnership with humans. Lee explores the ways that engineers use models and abstraction to build inventive artificial worlds and to give us things that we never dreamed of—for example, the ability to carry in our pockets everything humans have ever published. But he also attempts to counter the runaway enthusiasm of some technology boosters who claim everything in the physical world is a computation—that even such complex phenomena as human cognition are software operating on digital data. Lee argues that the evidence for this is weak, and the likelihood that nature has limited itself to processes that conform to today's notion of digital computation is remote. Lee goes on to argue that artificial intelligence's goal of reproducing human cognitive functions in computers vastly underestimates the potential of computers. In his view, technology is coevolving with humans. It augments our cognitive and physical capabilities while we nurture, develop, and propagate the technology itself. Complementarity is more likely than competition.

On the outside, seventeen-year-old Madelyne Summers looks like your typical blond cheerleader—perky, popular, and dating the star quarterback. But inside, Maddie spends more time agonizing over what will happen in the next issue of her favorite comic book than planning pep rallies with her squad. That she's a nerd hiding in a popular girl's body isn't just unknown, it's anti-known. And she needs to keep it that way.Summer is the only time Maddie lets her real self out to play, but when she slips up and the adorkable guy behind the local comic shop's counter uncovers her secret, she's busted. Before she can shake a pom-pom, Maddie's whisked into Logan's world of comic conventions, live-action role-playing, and first-person-shooter video games. And she loves it. But the more she denies who she really is, the deeper her lies become...and the more she risks losing Logan forever.

Dan Garrett has become exactly what he hates—popular. Until recently, he was just another live-action role-playing nerd on the lowest rung of the social ladder. Cue a massive growth spurt and an uncanny skill at taking three-point shots in basketball and voilà...Mr. Popular. It's definitely weird. And the biggest drawback? Going from high school zero to basketball hero cost Dan the secret girl of his dorky dreams. A band geek with an eclectic fashion sense, Zelda Potts's “coolness” stat is about minus forty-two. Dan turning his back on her and the rest of nerd-dom was brutal enough, but when he humiliates her at school, Zelda decides it's time for a little revenge—dork style. Never mind that she used to have a crush on him. Never mind that her plan could backfire big time. It's time to roll the dice...and hope like freakin' hell she doesn't lose her heart in the process.

Most people know a nerd when they see one but can't define just what a nerd is.American Nerd: The Story of My People gives us the history of the concept of nerdiness and of the subcultures we consider nerdy. What makes Dr. Frankenstein the archetypal nerd? Where did the modern jock come from? When and how did being a self-described nerd become trendy? As the nerd emerged, vaguely formed, in the nineteenth century, and popped up again and again in college humor journals and sketch comedy, our culture obsessed over the designation. Mixing research and reportage with autobiography, critically acclaimed writer Benjamin Nugent embarks on a fact-finding mission of the most entertaining variety. He seeks the best definition of nerd and illuminates the common ground between nerd subcultures that might seem unrelated: high-school debate team kids and ham radio enthusiasts, medieval reenactors and pro-circuit Halo players. Why do the same people who like to work with computers also enjoy playing Dungeons & Dragons? How are those activities similar? This clever, enlightening book will appeal to the nerd (and antinerd) that lives inside all of us.

Acclaimed authors Holly Black (Ironside)and Cecil Castellucci (Boy Proof) have united in geekdom to edit short stories from some of the best selling and most promising geeks in young adult literature: M.T. Anderson, Libba Bray, Cassandra Clare, John Green, Tracy Lynn, Cynthia and Greg Leitich Smith, David Levithan, Kelly Link, Barry Lyga, Wendy Mass, Garth Nix, Scott Westerfield, Lisa Yee, and Sara Zarr. With illustrated interstitials from comic book artists Hope Larson and Bryan Lee O'Malley, Geektastic covers all things geeky, from Klingons and Jedi Knights to fan fiction, theater geeks, and cosplayers. Whether you're a former, current, or future geek, or if you just want to get in touch with your inner geek, Geektastic will help you get your geek on!

Previously published as Ali & the Too Hot, Up-to-No Good, Very Beastly Boy I had a plan to survive my senior year. Too bad Jackson High's star quarterback BLEW. IT. UP. Last year, I was the most hated girl at my old school. This year, my plan is to lay low, keep to myself and graduate. My plan's working. Until the day I run into Dax DeLeon. It's impossible to stay invisible when the most popular guy at school claims I'm his girlfriend. Did I mention his ex--the head cheerleader and the most popular girl in school--wants him back? Boom. Now I've got a fake boyfriend. And a target on my back. Again. But what's scaring me the most... If this thing with Dax is fake--why does being with him feel so real? The Nerd & the Quarterback is a sweet YA romantic comedy about a nerdy bowler, a hot quarterback, a possible case of mistaken identity, a bunny-napping, ransom notes, a failed ransom drop, thievery, and mean girls being mean. But mostly about a boy and a girl learning to trust. *Warning: this book has a romance so sweet you'll get an urge to call your dentist.* Grab your copy today! The Jackson High Series: #1 The Nerd & the Quarterback (Ali & Dax, A Fake Boyfriend Romance) #2 The Good Girl & the Bad Boy (Grady & Lacey, An Enemies to Lovers Romance) #3 The Tomboy & the Movie Star (Bernie & Kingsly, A Fish Out-of-Water Romance) #4 The Shy Girl & the Jock Next Door (Shay & TJ, A Best Friends to Lovers Romance)

A chemistry nerd should know opposites always attract. Troy Of course I fell for a football jock. How could I not? But Jackson and I are polar opposites. He's popular, confident, and as hot as hell in a tight T-shirt. Me? I'm just a scrawny, awkward nerd. Another point of difference: he's straight. And as I trip, stumble, and stammer my way through all our conversations, my desire is growing at an alarming rate. I keep wondering what he looks like when he's on his knees. As if my crush on him isn't bad enough, Jackson is assigned to be my partner on a year-long project, and I have no choice but to spend time with the hottest guy on campus. Bummer. But the attraction is intensifying. We're on a collision course. I shouldn't be leaning in... I think I'm going to kiss him. Jackson Sweet. I got partnered up with the biggest nerd on campus. If I play my cards well, a passing grade is guaranteed. Troy's all shy and awkward; a classic nerd. But there's more to him than he's showing. And it's making me curious. I want to see him come out of his shell. I know he would be better off if he let his guard down. I want to be his friend, but he thinks I'm just another dumb jock. Except, I see him looking at me the way I could never look at him. Am I sending the wrong message? Is he falling for me? He's leaning in fast... He's about to kiss me. And I'm not even ducking. The Nerd Jock Conundrum is the first book in the College Boys of New Haven series, but it can be read on its own. It features a fresh twist on the nerd jock trope, opposites attract, bisexual awakening, enemies to friends to lovers, and a very happy ending.