He grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, which a lot of people think is a hellhole. Nicholas Yu went to North Allegheny High School there. Nicholas Yu's big brain was very good at dealing with the things they taught him there, so his teachers liked him even though he didn't give a rat's ass about them. He didn't care much about the teachers or the things he was supposed to learn. The only thing he really enjoyed was the tater tots in the cafeteria.
Tater tots are small balls of fried potatoes.
Nicholas Yu never thought about the fact that a tot was another word for a small child. He wouldn't have enjoyed eating something named after a baby. Somewhere in there Nicholas found out that certain liquids and plants made him feel good, and took some of the pressure off his great big brain. He would have given anything to get rid of that big busy brain of his. It could make him so miserable.