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The Geek Shall Inherit the Earth
erick99 writes "With so many self-proclaimed geeks here at Slashdot, this particular article concerning geeks seems fitting. The article covers the gamut from science fiction to comic books to the "mainstreaming of geeks." The author seems to conclude the it is not such a good idea that the geek may inherit the earth. But, hey, what does he know. "
Well if the Geeks Inheirit the Earth the place should really byte
Never Politically Correct ~ I prefer the facts If you don't like what I say, get a life, or comment yourself.
Matrix, comics, and computer, sheesh! It's Revenge of the Nerds that brought geekdom to its pinnacle!
Everyone now realizes the difference between nerds and geeks. Geeks are the cool nerds!
Now, if we could only get the hot women...
Geeks tend to get along with their own better than warrior-king types.
"The internet often breeds individuation and solipsism" Yes.. let's blame the internet for every social evil! Si.
"Rather than being integrated into society by being forced to take people as they come, the internet allows you to preselect whom you choose to fraternise with, based upon whether or not they share your specific interests."
:D
That's why I browse at -1.
Quod scripsi, scripsi.
The original longer-form of the quote is,
:)
"The meek shall inherit what's left of the Earth after we're done with it."
Courtesy of UrbanDictionary.com:
anorak
1. Cagoul; or a hooded zip-up jacket.
2. Trainspotters.
3. IT people in general, computer geeks.
Beware of couples wearing matching anoraks.
Often spotted at LAN parties.
I'm still trying to figure out whether or not being compared to a warm, puffy coat is a good thing.
That's pretty scary considering Merriam Webster's first definition of "geek":
"a carnival performer often billed as a wild man whose act usually includes biting the head off a live chicken or snake"
"Geek"
As geek contains within in a notion of separateness and awkwardsness, the whole notion of a mainstream geek is an oxymoron.
I suspect the author was just out to get a bit of cash or notorioty.
" Geeks tend to get along with their own better than warrior-king types."
There would still be wars. THey would not be between countries but between Windows, Linux, BSD and Mac overloards. Windows would be like the US. Big, bulky and some part of it is always screwed up. BSD and Mac would have a treaty and tag team the others.
Evolution or ID?
No, I don't think so, geekyness is a subculture ... and if the mainstream comes towards us, we shall step aside. Not to rule the world, but to change it!
The mainstreaming of my beloved geek subculture depresses me.
"When did it become cool to be a dork? You know that shifty-acting guy or libertine-looking gal who's always all, "I'm captain punk-rock-opolis," crying "culture-stealer" whenever the opportunity makes itself available? That's me, except with geeks."
"Am I not justified though? Am I to idly watch the tyrants streamline my identity for mass consumption; our folklore exploited and assimilated by wannabe societies? Eccentricaly-dressed girls using their cuteness to conceal their embarassing ignorance, actually thinking that Wolverine's mutant powers are those metal claw thingies? People who haven't paid their dues; who couldn't tell you the difference between a D6 and DOS? Guys who've never carried out torrid--though imaginary--love affairs with Ensign McKnight, trading knowing smirks and grins across the Ten Forward lounge?"
The standards for geek initiation have been lowered too far. Too many times have I seen my dork friends embrace a cute girl as their own, just because she has a mild familiarity with Magic: The Gathering cards.
Why should we settle for earth when there are many other planets waiting for geek colonization!
I'm aiming for Mars myself...
- Byzandula
In the 1980s an anorak was used as slang in the UK for a certain type of person who would wear an anorak whether or not they were indoors or outdoors.
They tended to be male (99%), individualistic and not try to wear fashionable or nice clothes. This was due to poverty and also a greater interest in "anoraki" hobbies, like computing, chess, games like DnD, trainspotting.
Part of the reason for the popularity of the anorak was they were quite warm, and if you put one on in the morning, you could wear one all day, they covered you up, whatever the weather so you did not have to concern yourself with earthly matters like what you looked like.
I would guess that people still look at you funny when you say "thrice". I understand that it's a lot more efficient than saying "three times", but it's a touch archaic.
Although, I have been trying to bring back the expression "Ods bodkins!" so I don't have much room to talk.
49 20 68 61 76 65 20 74 6F 6F 20 6D 75 63 68 20 66 72 65 65 20 74 69 6D 65 2E
I for one welcome our Slashdot reading overlords..
Sorry, I just had to.
Sometimes I wish I was a plumber, then I'd know how to deal with other people's shit.
When we were kids in Britain, the lame kids who let their Mums dress them would always come to school kitted out in a parka, or anorak, with a fun-fur hood. Every single one of them. So an "anorak" is a dweeb, or a dork.
This guy obviously didn't get the universal truth as portrayed in "Revenge of the Nerds".. that inside every geek is an automaton of burning passion powering a pile-driving love machine.
So why the fuck shouldn't we rule the earth?
Norman Cook's Ode to Sl
This "geek" crap has long gotten on my nerves. The only stereotype even more BORING than a DnD playing, emasculated, Buffy the Vampire Slayer watching, socially crippled dweeb is the "business/entrepenur" dork.
Want proof? Bloggers. Give even a cursory look at the personal "blogs" out there and you realize none of these people have even a semblance of a life.
See, here in NYC, geekdom has become...trendy. It's now cool to know tons about comic books, to be an IP wizard, to be able to pull odd things from teh intarweb. If you're a mac geek, you're even better off.
The problem with this is the fucking hipsters of the geek wannabe persuasion. They manage to effectively mimic geek behavior but are much smoother (excuse me - smoover), much nicer looking and infinitely better at getting laid. So now all the look-alike "hey look, I can setup iTunes networking. I'm awesome and lovable and single! Bed me!" are stealing the small portion of women endowed by god with a geek-love gene. JUST when we're acceptable to the outside world, we get screwed by the trendiest people on EARTH. AGAIN.
But the worst part of it is, you turn into, like, that guy. You know, that guy who always grumbles about being ahead of the trend. The "I was listening to them when they were indie and they suck now" guy and everyone thinks YOU'RE the poser.
Please. Take me back to obscurity. At least I was getting laid when I was on the fringe.
Triv
As I understand it:
there is a hobby called 'trainspotting' where people hang about at railway stations, noting the comings and goings of trains (e.g. the 4723 to Wembley left the station at 0914).
since these trainspotters are often outside in inclement weather, they wear large puffy winter coats
being geeks and having no fashion sense, they choose the same sort of large puffy coats that your mother made you wear when you were a kid. (Think of the big coat George Costanza wore in that episode of 'Seinfeld' if that helps.)
in the UK, the puffy coat is called an anorak
the garment became synonymous with the sad trainspotting git who wears it.
:-)
British slang is fun.
I want to drag this out as long as possible. Bring me my protractor.
"Rather than being integrated into society by being forced to take people as they come, the internet allows you to preselect whom you choose to fraternise with, based upon whether or not they share your specific interests."
This is one of the most annoying things to me, about some of my old friends. I grew up in a relatively small community, school of about 1000 students, near a city of a quarter of a million.
The VAST majority of my old schoolmates still hang out together and shag each other and bitch about each other and steal each others partners and generally stay in the same old pond.
They put up with the same shit from the same shits for year after year because they dont want to get out there and find people with common interests.
Geeks, nerdy boys and the like are oft criticised for being anti-social / a-social but from my experience are WAY more adventurous in building social circles which, while relativly small are created from a very wide geographical pool.
Long live the geek for spreading what genes they CAN exchange with further flung chicks that your average small town wanker obsessed with tribalism and football.
Ok - rant over - Im off for a coffee!
Computer geeks are now in the same position automobile geeks were when the auto was coming into its own. Automobiles used to be considered an oddity at best and a nuisance at worst. Few owned them and the majority didn't understand the attraction for the noisy smelly things. Horses required little maintenance and performed the same functions better. Motoring enthusiasts formed clubs in order to be with others who understood their peculiar hobby.
Fast forward to today. A knowledgeable mechanic is virtually guaranteed an audience when discussing his profession. Everyone has a car and everyone has a story or a problem for which a mechanic's expertise provides a welcome addition to the conversation. Nobody thinks of auto mechanics as isolated geeks.
It makes all the difference in the world when the others in a party are interested in hearing what you have to say, whether it's the details of automatic transmissions, the pros and cons of DSL versus broadband or the differences between the movie and the comic.
===== Murphy's Law is recursive. =====
It is rather sad to hear that being an individual is now considered evil.
Obsession with anything is bad if it interferes with your life. Sci-Fi/Fantasy is no different.
But the criticism of science fiction and fantasy fans - that we are infantile and escapist people, and socially inept to boot - sadly has a little more truth to it.
Yeah, and people who are obsessed with Survivor, American Idol or any of a dozen soap operas are less escapist then fantasy fans.
As long as science fiction and fantasy fandom remained a fairly marginal subculture, then while certain fans may have pursued their passion to an unhealthy degree, the existence of the subculture was harmless. But when society as a whole starts to become obsessed with the otherworldly, then society as a whole threatens to go hikikomori - to become more interested in whiling away its time dreaming, than in addressing the real problems that confront it.
When society as a whole becomes obessed with anything, it becomes a problem. The existence of a few people obsessed with the genre does not imply that society as a whole will become obesessed with it if if becomes popular. Yes, there are some very obsessive fantasy fans, but the majority are quite capable of functioning in a normal society. And to suppose that all society will become obsessive fantasy fans because a few are is ridiculous.
Nothing quite like taking an exaggerated stereotype and applying it to everyone.
People's desire to believe they are right is much stronger than their desire to be right.
I don't know about you, but my heart swells up and I brim with pride when someone calls me a nerd (okay, that's a bit of an exaggeration...). But seriously, I enjoy being recognized for my mental abilities in a world where you can get paid hundreds of millions of dollars for hitting a ball with a stick or throwing a dead pig 70 yards. Who would you rather be, the all brawn no brains guy jacked up on designer steroids hitting 75 homeruns a season, or the mastermind that designed the drug and made it all possible?
Personally, I feel to doing quality research and being published in a scientific journal or writing code for a new program is much more of an accomplishment than throwing a 95 mile an hour strike. Call me a nerd all you want.
I fraternise with people who share my specific interests in my social life in generally. It tends to be the case that the only people who come along to my dance lessons are people who are interested in dancing, the only people I see at games evening are people who enjoy gaming, and the only people who come to my church are Christians and people interested in finding out about Christianity. I didn't find out about the dance club, the games evening, or the church from the Internet.
People still look at me funny when I tell them I've read LOTR thrice.
Even though its becoming more accepted, I still wouldn't call it mainstream.
All-time worldwide box-office rankings:
2. The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King
4. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
8. The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring
Tell me again how the trilogy that dominates the top-10 all-time worldwide box office rankings isn't "mainstream?"
Source.
Like woodworking? Build your own picture frames.
Excellent point.
The author seems mainly concerned that the spreading of geek values will result in a mass retreat from the "real world." Well, the "real world" is whatever we choose to make it. I live a pretty geeky life -- I work as a DBA, study computational biology in school, read (and occasionally write) science fiction, listen to obscure music, and hang out primarily with other people who have similar interests. But guess what? There are a lot of those people -- and yes, half of them are women, and some pretty good-looking women at that. My academic studies may be incomprehensible to the monkeys who think an MBA constitutes higher education, but my research has the potential to change lives while they're shuffling papers. And my job is interesting, challenging, and pays me enough for a comfortable life. You don't get much more real than that.
The correlation between ignorance of statistics and using "correlation is not causation" as an argument is close to 1.
So you are a nomad as opposed to them being tribalists and this makes you better somehow?
You are no better than them, nor they you. There's just a lot of diversity in the way humans live their lives. If everyone did what you do then there would be no communities and that would really suck.
Mac OS X and Windows XP working side by side to fight back the night.
But the criticism of science fiction and fantasy fans - that we are infantile and escapist people, and socially inept to boot - sadly has a little more truth to it.
I don't see the problem. What is socially inept is defined by the prevailing culture. By 1950's standards, almost all of today's socially respectable, well-adapted individuals are "socially inept" as well--they know none of the behavioral norms, dress norms, or skills that any respectable member of society was expected to know back then; culture and social standards have already shifted radically.
Will social norms shift even further? Who knows. But which set of social norms we get depends on the norms we prefer, and to the degree that those preferences are subject to change, the norms can change. If enough people find a geek lifestyle acceptable for others and maybe for themselves, then that lifestyle will become more mainstream.
Nope, sorry, language has moved on. AFAICT, "geek" now refers to those of us who are systems thinkers about, increasingly, any subject. You can now find people, as the article mentions, saying that they are "geeking out" about anything from auto repair to barbeque.
/. and while most of us may have looked like, and been, pasty-faced social isolates at the age of ten, we now do martial arts, ride and rebuild motorcycles, can at the least effectively simulate the patter and behavior required to do well at parties, and, well, we get laid.
.
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"nerd" now denotes the tape-on-the-glasses weakling.
Personally, I think that this separation was inevitable since:
A.) Society will never maintain contempt for any class of people who make lots of money and get lots of power.
A'.) Any class with lots of money and power will achieve at least a passable baseline of nookie.
and more interestingly
B.) Real geeks are, by nature, hackers of our environment and, increasingly of ourselves. Sure, some techies seem to sincerely think that they can transcend their social cluelessness and isolation by becoming experts in yet another obscure subject (beer-making, cpu customization, wargaming) but most of us long since figured out that we can apply our skills at analysis and redesign to ourselves.
I look at my friends on
I am a geek. I am seriously fucking proud of that. I know that I am not only smarter and more capable in several dozen ways then just about anybody I have ever met, I am also more honest, ethical, and self-aware. All are geek traits.
I have also done more bed-hopping then many a guy.
Sure, we start out as "losers" but at what iteration?
I'm thirty-seven. Old enough to now see what is happening to my age cohort well beyond the baselines provided by genetics, family, and cultural mores. Most guys my age are getting sloppy, flabby, passive, and sloppy about their appearance and even their careers. I look at the geeks my age and we are all more self-assured, all working on our health, mostly getting stronger and more physically capable, and generally on the way up while those around us go down. We are stronger, fiercer, and more formidible then our non-geek equivalents and the gap is widening.
As far as I'm concerned, being a geek is defined by what I call "two and a half" variables. Firstly, being a systems-oriented thinker, seeing the world not as a random set of causeless phenomena but as overlapping groups of editable, comprehensible events. Secondly, having a brain that doesn't turn off. In other words, living with a default setting of starting to figure out "why" as soon as one is provided with the data on "what".
The "half" is that nobody becomes that passionate about understanding the world just because they felt like it. That level of involvement *always* is a consequence of something serious having been wrong when one was a child. After all, if the world gives you everything you want, then you don't question it too deeply. So all of us, each of us, were striving for something and were smart enough that we found that thinking and understanding got us closer to get what we strove for. Kids develop the tool that gets them what they want. We developed the habit of thinking. Of making sense of things.
But that "malformation" is only the starting point, not necessarily a permanent state.
Where do computers fit into all of this? Only as easy ways to make a living that are best handled by us. Built by geeks, specc'ed in part by geeks (Vannevar, we call to you!), they are logic machines, however faulty. So a lot of us have drifted there. Whatever. It's only a local and temporary anomaly. In the eighteen-fifties we would have been in the railroad business.
As for the "make-believe" thing, I call bullshit on that. I have repeatedly had to endure crowds of dim bulbs on their way to Yankees games recently and these halfwits were far more involv
Data is the lever, rigor the fulcrum, brains the force that drives it all.
for example... Two warriors that had different religions, were sworn enemies, but they did sit down and have a nice meal with eachother. The story goes that they were comparing weapons and Saladin threw a silk scarf up into the air, held out his scimitar and the silk scarf cut itself in two, by it's own weight. Richard put an iron bar on a block and chopped it in half with one swing of his sword. That sword bit may be grossly distorted,or a total fabrication, but people believed it for a long time.
In Euope, on the rare occasions that monarchs were captured, they were often allowed to take whole wagon trains of stuff with them and whole bunches of servants. They most certainly did not rot in a hole, and they often ate with their captors. Leaving aside the fact that the royal families of europe were a bunch of inbred freaks and that the vanquished was probably your cousin, it makes a point. But woe to the commoner that got uppity. They would be put down hard with no courtesy.
Yeah, warrior-kings tend to take care of their own, when they aren't busy chopping eachother up. Yesterday it was a joust and a feast, today 18 holes & lunch at the Yacht club. No difference.
Why do I have this? I don't smoke.