On being a geek

There's a debate thats existed for sometime about the differences between a nerd and a geek. To be honest, I'm not quite sure which is which. From what I gather, the nerd is supposed to the super intelligent, estudious type that has pseudo (or in some cases full blown) aspergers syndrome like symptoms. This is your scientist type that gets hired by NASA to design a new satellite or your computer programmer genius. Geeks on the other hand are the Star Trek/Star Wars loving roleplayer that spends too many hours on Halo. Of course the two often mix and match, hence the characters we see in shows like the Big Bang theory end up being both.

Recently, it kind of became cool to be a geek. With Superhero films, Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter taking off in the 00s, women got as sucked into a pop culture that was usually aimed at men. Whilst perhaps the majority of women would have boy band members, sport stars or actors as pin ups, all traditionally "buff" and well put together, another proportion of women have began to take interest in the geek. Stars like Adam Brody of The O.C. fame and Tobey Maguire are now seen as attractive and a lot of niche hobbies such as playing computer games, reading comics, watching Star Trek and roleplaying (okay maybe not just yet) have become more acceptable. Indeed a lot of it can be tied with the growth of indie music and the amount of time the Average Joe spends on the internet these days.

As a geek I appreciate this big time. I've been a card carrying geek since I was a kid. From the ages of 10-13 I was playing Warhammer and reading comics. Between 12 and fifteen I was regularly roleplaying and I (in true geek fashion)elected myself president of a magic the gathering club at school. Whether my lack of athleticism as a teenager encouraged this behaviour the behaviour encouraged the lack of athleticism I do not know but back then I had no interest in doing anything physical that wasn't sword fighting with latex swords or backyard wrestling. Whilst this geekiness caused some scorn to be dished out by peers throught those pubescent years, I furthered the level of this scorn in my immaturity by adopting the belief I was the victim and almost promoted that idea by saying and doing things that would have me ridiculed. When I initially started this blog when I was 17 and letting people know about it, I knew full well I was going to be laughed at by about half the school, a self sabotaging part of myself almost wanting this to happen whilst the better part of me grew angry about this outcast status I had brought upon myself, trying to act as if I didn't spend my Saturday afternoons tapping forests for green mana in the back of a dusty old comic shop.

Nowadays I don't have to do that. I can freely admit that whilst I write this I'm watching Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (though I don't have a clue what's going on) and not worry that I'm going to end up a social reject. Perhaps this is due to wisdom and confidence coming over time and age but I find it funny though how the fears of the past leave their mark upon the human psyche and also how as a member of the white middle class I've never had to be too concerned about my survival but can spend hours fretting about my social acceptance.

If I could go back in time to when I was worrying about how I could be seen as "cool" or whinging about the fact I wasn't, I'd tell myself that the truly cool are those that don't give a shit about how they are viewed. Even if this geek chic culture dies I'll not ashamed of my "uncool" hobbies. I've learned that these hobbies can be a source of intrigue about your character. Although these days my geekiness lies mainly with playing Magic the Gathering, spending too much time on the internet/playing computer games and hanging about with the crowds that do these best, I've learned I can make these seem interesting to other people with colourful explanation, confidence and passion. Some of the most successful, social and interesting people I know are geeks who aren't afraid to play a grown up version of pokemon cards whilst supping a pint. And whilst I've never played geeky games to enhance my pulling potential, I'll never fear that I won't be getting laid for being a geek.

Apart from being superheroes what have Silver Surfer, Iron Man, Batman and Ghost Rider got in common? I've pulled girls wearing t-shirts of them. Shame I couldn't do that when I was 16..


Next time: Q-Con 2010 review