Are you a geek?
First I'm going to define what I mean by using the word 'geek' as the word has many different meanings to different people. I'm using it to mean a person with a fanatical devotion to something that is essentially irrelevant to their life but they derive pleasure from, for example If you were a doctor and were fanatical about doctoring that doesn't count as it's your job and you get paid.
Now you have to ask yourself why certain things are socially acceptable to be geeky about whereas other things are not. Let me demonstrate with an easy example: Say I spend my weekends at science fiction conventions dressed up as my favourite character from the Star Wars saga (an Ewok, naturally) with 200 other guys dressed up in a similar manner, that would make me a horrendous social outcast with no friends, no one would talk to me etc etc. HOWEVER, If I was to spend my weekends in the pub dressed in the shirt of my favourite football team watching a match with 200 other guys wearing the exact same thing that would be considered acceptable, normal even. There is certainly an interesting duality there.
There is even this juxtaposition within sub-genres of geekery; think of Metal-heads vs. Top 40 Zombies in music. The Blockbuster crowd vs. the art-house goons in film. Marvel vs. DC in comics (bad example).
I think that if we take a good look at our own lifestyle from an objective viewpoint most of us will have a few of these obsessions that would baffle an impartial observer. Perhaps we should stop and think about our own inner geek before we (myself included) are so quick to judge others.
Now you have to ask yourself why certain things are socially acceptable to be geeky about whereas other things are not. Let me demonstrate with an easy example: Say I spend my weekends at science fiction conventions dressed up as my favourite character from the Star Wars saga (an Ewok, naturally) with 200 other guys dressed up in a similar manner, that would make me a horrendous social outcast with no friends, no one would talk to me etc etc. HOWEVER, If I was to spend my weekends in the pub dressed in the shirt of my favourite football team watching a match with 200 other guys wearing the exact same thing that would be considered acceptable, normal even. There is certainly an interesting duality there.
There is even this juxtaposition within sub-genres of geekery; think of Metal-heads vs. Top 40 Zombies in music. The Blockbuster crowd vs. the art-house goons in film. Marvel vs. DC in comics (bad example).
I think that if we take a good look at our own lifestyle from an objective viewpoint most of us will have a few of these obsessions that would baffle an impartial observer. Perhaps we should stop and think about our own inner geek before we (myself included) are so quick to judge others.
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