Popular kids don't necessarily know who they are because they're so busy trying to conform. It's the outcasts who are more attuned to who they are. They're more self-aware, more real.

You should wear what you want to wear and not worry about trying to paint yourself in a certain image because that self-awareness is what's going to help you become a more independent and more interesting and healthier adult.

Since 'The Overachievers' came out, I've been doing a lot of lectures and talking to kids across the country.

Chess is changing. I hope chess is getting more popular, more spectacular.

I tend to focus on young people and on giving a voice to groups of people who don't normally get their voices heard.

I would hate to be in high school now. Psychologists talk about the 'imaginary audience' that teens seem to feel they have around them and that makes them think they have to keep up their image all the time. Now with Facebook and MySpace and 24/7 online access, that imaginary audience has become real.