The sociology of Scrab₃b₃le

I’m halfway through a book titled “Word Freak: The Heartbreak, Triumph, Genius of World Competitive Scrabble Players” about the misfits who memorize seven-letter words to compete in Scrabble tournaments. NY Times columnist John Tierney uses these word nerds as examples of why men will go to lengths to succeed that women will not in “The Urge to Win.” Interesting analysis, except it doesn’t nearly go far enough to describe the insular subculture of men who sit around challenging each other with anagrams.