Why “Geek” is Chic – Learning to Become Less Naive and Less Ignorant

This is certainly an article I could not let pass me up here without comment. I can’t begin to discuss all the teasing and negative impact that I get for pursuing knowledge, it has gone on forever. I think of myself as imperfect as the rest of us and always being open to improve and learn. I’m stubborn at times like all of us as that is a human attribute we all carry with us at times, but the quest for knowledge has been a huge help for me in the way I look at the world, other people and kind of gives me some unique understandings of the reactions I get and see. I try not to get mad very often and others that know me tell me I am lacking in that department, well so it be sometimes I guess.

It does say a lot about what is out there to read today and where to search out other avenues too. I like some of the news events that are gossip too, don’t get me wrong there, but I also realize those are mostly there for my entertainment and sometimes there’s even stuff to learn there too. Way back over 10 years ago I used to have female friends criticize me over pulling my PDA out of my purse (then in black and white format) to reference some information, I was told “don’t do that, people won’t like you” and that was not teasing, it was a perception of an individual who didn’t quite understand a thirst for knowledge, being informed and at the same time being horribly efficient. Yup, those were the dastardly horrible things I did and still continue to do, and misunderstood by many. As the title here indicates, this is my endeavor to “become less naive and I might add less ignorant” too.

I am just pleased as punch to find others who took time to acknowledge this too, so now I don’t feel so all alone and succumb to the so often non solicited advice I seem to get all the time. I have found today that it is more important to listen. Someone may have told me the same story 9 times and is beginning to repeat the story for time number 10, but if I don’t listen, I might miss a new twist in version number 10 that was omitted in 1-9, so patience is really a big part of living today and I work on it too as its easy enough to slip back and criticize rather than perhaps being the “good ear” that a friend or associate is looking for. How can I solve their problems, I can’t but I can listen and perhaps offer a point of view.

We see a lot of the “Shell Answer men and women” today that hear only a brief summary of what a person has to say and yet with way less than enough information, they jump right out there, judge and offer “quick fix” solutions. Hint, we all like to feel good about helping others, but this can also be compulsive/obsessive behavior in ourselves too, think heavy on that one, in other words is this from the heart to help out or is it your own need inside to feel “useful” and be a contributor.

I kind of move around in life and tune those folks out if I recognize this and let them speak, in one ear and out the other so as not to offend at times. I think this leads on to the difficulty we have today in finding mentors, or identifying who really is one. In other words are they a mentor with helping and knowledge down deep in the heart or is this another one out there with “quick fix” ideas needing some immediate gratification with conversations they may be having today. I get confused here too sometimes as I am human too, but an effort I try to put forward for my own sanity in shuffling out what advice I can use and what is done for the sake of others with self gratification, and sometimes it could be a little of both. Usually one’s speaking and body language is a big help for me. When I see big time preaching coupled with anger and frustration coming at me with a tone of belittlement or an approach to antagonize to fulfill someone's need to make a point, well those are the areas where I usually try to walk away eventually, but I do listen and maybe sort it out later.

Anyway, great insight here from this article and some really good thoughts passed along, learning to become less naive and ignorant scores big in my book too. I might also add here that the appearance of what has been termed a “geek” is also changing.

Most that don’t know me or have never met me have no clue by appearance that I am a “geek” so we do live among you out there outside what has been the “stereo typed” visual of what most would call a nerd. The geeks and nerds of today no longer hide behind a huge wall of computer code, we talk and socialize too. (grin). BD

It’s the latest indicator that geeks and chic have collided head on. Four weeks into the decade, and the Teenies are already shaping up to be the era where hefty brain power becomes the new status symbol. If the 1980s were about power and the 1990s about soul, then the Noughties ended up being about shopping — rabid materialism followed by a crash.

So, why the sudden brain fetish? “Well, I think cynicism is on the wane,” says Chris Anderson, the British former journalist who now runs TED from his office in New York. “There was a hole in the existing media diet. On the one hand, you had the dramatic but bleak news of the day, and on the other celebrity tittle-tattle. The brain-nurturing stuff that people love was being squeezed out. Also, the fact that, in some parts of the world, fewer people have been going to a church or place of worship, so they have unintentionally lost out on that sense of community participation in an idea that’s bigger than them. Psychological research shows that a core element to leading a happy life is to spend part of your time thinking about ideas or purposes that are bigger than you are.”

“In my twenties, I was busy just living,” says Michelle Newell, a 32-year-old schools consultant. “I was socializing and working, but a lot of the time I didn’t stop to think. Then I got tired of consuming goods and services, so I’ve started to consume experiences. For many people now, it’s a badge of honor to say, I’ve been to this talk or read this book.” She pauses. “I know I’m looking to fill my life with something, well, a bit more meaningful.”

“Like a lot of people, I feel that in my career I have a narrow and deep understanding of one thing, so part of the reason why I’m seeking to learn more is to become less naive.” She goes momentarily wide-eyed. “My girlfriends tease me for having nerd pursuits.” Tell them it’s super-trendy, I say. Rimel laughs at the idea that brains are the new black. “Well, it’s a different kind of night out,” she says, smiling, “and more than just fashionable.”

Why brainy is suddenly chic - Times Online