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I realize that being a geek now is considered “in” but I’m starting to wonder...
Where did all the real geeks go???
Don’t get me wrong; I am elated that so many are now embracing their inner “nerd”. But perhaps there are too many who are donning the uniform without following the mindset.
Just the other night I was at work and some kid was wearing a science themed tee and was bragging about his Spiderman underwear. So of course, I start discussing some of the more recent arcs in the Spiderman series and Joe Quesada’s (asinine) comments at Comic Con about said arcs…and this kid just stood there with blank look on his face and admitted “I actually never read a Spiderman comic before.”
It is like this all the time for me now. With the rise in popularity of comic book heroes, video game characters, and nerdy accessories...it takes a clever eye to spot the real from the fake. Now let me repeat what I said before, as my intentions are not to offend, nor to sway anyone from delving into traditionally geeky hobbies and pastimes: I condone and even encourage others to jump on this particular bandwagon.
But! Is it too much to ask that you at least learn something in the process????
After all, you wouldn’t wear a band tee without listening to the music first, right?
So why would you wear a Iron Man tee without having ever having flipped through the pages of an Iron Man or Avengers comic???
Or wear a shirt with Master Chief on it without ever having played a single game of Halo??
There is a lot more to being a geek then wearing the clothes and using the vernacular. (Online gaming slang has pretty much been ruined for me now.) Honestly, most people will never really know how it feels to be geeky...and that is a good thing to some extent! It isn’t all peaches and cream you know. I have spent most of my life hiding some of my more embarrassing hobbies (many of which I don’t have to hide anymore simply because most people see “hot chick” first and...well...we all know “hot chick” trumps “geek”). I still struggle with social anxiety, shyness, and my overall introverted-ness. I hate the fact that anytime I am faced with crowds or intimidating social situations, my stomach gets upset and I am confined to the bathroom much of the night. I hate that no matter how well I know someone, I still dread going out in public “to hang” and I have butterflies in my stomach worrying about if they are bored or discontent with me. And I hate that when I get scared or shy, my voice gets higher and lighter to the point of being almost inaudible.
It is not a normal life. But I’ve learned to accept it and even love it. I may never be the social butterfly or the extroverted party girl that I always wished I had the guts to pull off. But I have found a small circle of friends who share many of the same problems and personality glitches that I do...and we have much in common as far as interests go.
And I have my family too. They are the most likely the cause of my geekiness. My Dad is the founder of the Chestmont Astronomical Society and my mother is hardcore into the SCA. Oh, and my sister works at GameStop and hopes to one day join the Fragdolls or program video games. And my boyfriend of seven years is an Actuary and competes in National Sudoku Championships (and finished third last year!).
So yeah...not a lot of cool kids in my crowd...but I like it that way.
But I digress. Back to point!
My point is...yes, try on the geeky lifestyle. Read some comic books, join your local Astronomy club, try currency tracking, go to a Sci-Fi Convention, get some books on Astrophysics, or whatever floats your boat.
Don’t just look like you know it...actually KNOW it.
Because not enough of us have an interest in science and mathematics.
Because Marvel needs better writers and artists.
Because NASA gets less than 1% of federal funding.
And most importantly....
Because I don’t want to live in a world where no one knows who Carl Sagan is.
SqueakMachine
NOV 08, 2009 04:20 PM
Oh, I hear you. I never check the Uber Geek Brigade because it seems to revolve mostly around video games, movies, comic books and how/why people are geeky. I like all those things but only very specific items in each category so I don't really know much about WoW or the latest Lord of the Rings movie. I think I am more suited to Mad Scientists. I'm a geek for zoology, biology, evolutionary biology, botany, etymology, grammar, languages and science fiction. I feel like those things are still truly geeky because it's pretty hard to pretend to know another language and I don't think they make Stephen Jay Gould underwear, but I would totally wear them if they did! I'm sure that the nintendo playing, comic book movie watching crowd will move on to the next fad eventually and the true nerds will be left to hide in our houses in peace
NOV 08, 2009 04:24 PM
Hi. I'm an SCA, history and bladesmithing geek, though I am familiar with Dr. Sagan.
I gave up on Marvel in disgust about 25 years ago.
NOV 08, 2009 04:57 PM
Totally. I did not spend decades being ostracized and marginalized for people to just sweep in on this "We're all geeks!" wave. 
NOV 08, 2009 05:17 PM
NOV 08, 2009 06:01 PM
Oh man, watching Cosmos with my Mom when I was little convinced me I wanted to be an astrophysicist.
...until I got to highschool and discovered I suck ass at physics, and that biology was my true calling.
It saddens me that so few people seem to care about scientific figures that [we/a]re so important.
A sign of the times, I guess.....
NOV 08, 2009 06:11 PM
NOV 08, 2009 06:42 PM
LOL
Worth the reprint: Late '80's a friend of mine has a RECORD store.
I'm in BSing with him and some other regulars. One guy pops up and
says: "I was playing a Chuck Berry TAPE at work, this kid looks at me
and says 'He's pretty good, but that all he does is COVERS?' ". We all lost it
laughing.
The clueless are the dominate human species. Look at all of the Laws and
regulations to protect people from their own stupidity.
Didn't know about Sagan's Day, but glad to hear he has gotten recognition.
Wonder and storytelling are being 'educated' out of the kids.
NOV 08, 2009 06:54 PM
Yes, you are a geek and probably have more geek cred than me. Because you have posted this blog and previously mentioned thread, I will spend some time tomorrow learning what I can about Carl Sagan.
I understand why you are upset. You want to get rid of the geek posers. When something becomes popular, there will always be posers. Look at when Hip-Hop became popular, there were white kids from the suburbs being all "gangster" like. This is just the same thing. The popularity of geeky stuff might pass and those posers will become something else. Just know that you are way superior to them. Or maybe teach them something in the process.
I have to say, you are probably one of the coolest people because you are geek, and not because you are a hot chick. (I barely even noticed that part. 
) I feel for you extreme introversion too. I know I can be pretty extreme introvert as well, nervous in public and speaking to people I hardly know. It can be quite tiresome. You have a great group of people around you too.
But I digress... I think...
Have a great day!
NOV 08, 2009 07:40 PM
How can you look up and not know who Sagan was? 
Well... I read comics a lot, and I mean a whole lot, but that was a few years back.
Since the local shop closed...no more books for me.
So, don't kill me if I don't know the up to dte news ok. 
Take care Squeak...you are amazing!!! 
NOV 08, 2009 07:51 PM
NOV 08, 2009 08:09 PM
NOV 08, 2009 08:28 PM
I totally agree, one of the most annoying things for me is when I see someone wearing a shirt with say the Avengers, and not know who half the people are. Seriously, I mean, not even obscure Avengers, but like Thor, Vision, and Hawkeye.
Thing is though, nowadays, the term geek and nerd have become two different things. Geeks are obsessive and knee deep into some specific niche. They could be film geeks, comic geeks, science geeks and so forth. Nerds are the evolution of the geek, or what used to be considered a geek. They are the ones who fit the perceived definition of geek/nerd most completely.
This might clarify how things are split now that being a geek is somewhat cool
NOV 08, 2009 08:28 PM
*edit* sorry accidentally posted twice for some reason... boy is my face red
NOV 09, 2009 12:11 AM
I have always thought of "geek" as just a complete obsession with a certain thing. The guys who obsess over football statistics are just as geeky to me as the rest of us that imagine what our specific mutation would be, were we to reside at 1407 Graymalkin Lane. It is just a different "breed", so to speak.
Philosophically, Sagan is positively rhapsodic. I must admit never really being much into astronomy, save for admiring pretty lights. But three cheers for secular humanism, and humanism in general.
I also delight in things off the beaten track and wish to further the encouragement to celebrate your eccentricities. Rock out with your protractor out, son.
NOV 09, 2009 12:39 AM
"Because not enough of us have an interest in science"
it's not that I don't have an interest, it's that I don't understand most of it!
"and mathematics."
ugh. math just bores me AND i don't understand it!
I'm an art/history nerd!
"I start discussing some of the more recent arcs in the Spiderman series"
I don't read the new ones..
BUT
I am trying to complete my ASM run from the early issues up to about issue #300 (or a little later than that one).
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