Journal - August 15

Why geeks are in general better

I'm told that that this term geekdom refers to those possessing of deeply set interests in random topics. Look it up on urban dictionary if you don't believe me. Actually don't do that, it completely undermines my point, but that's not important now is it.

What does matter, is that geeks are in general better. For one thing, they tend to be literally better at things. Who wants to be around a bunch of people with only healthy interest in normal subjects. Did anyone ever compose great masterpieces without obsession, bring audiences to tears with a perfectly balanced life, or brand by sheer force of language ideas into our minds that will never be erased with only passing interest? Mozart - probably never left his study, Socrates - stared blankly off into space for hours - willingly accepted a death verdict for his ideas, Picasso - let's not even start.

On a more practical level, the geeks of the world, to me are just more interesting. I'll go into depth more on the subject another time, but suffice it to say that we can talk about ideas or we can talk about objects and things. Most conversations are the latter, and so many of these are the same. It doesn't matter whether we discuss Nascar, Wine and Cheese, or South Park if the same descriptive phrases and emotions are being expressed with only a swap of the nouns connecting their respective adjectives. Sure small talk can be jolly swell, but if you want to break the mold, the easiest way will almost always be to find some geek and ask them about their favorite subject. Unhealthy fascinations breed more than just 'book good, author good, prose good' and 'show good, joke good, surprise good' like none other.

Also - people being excited about their stuff contracts through a conversation like zombie bites in a crowded city. Sure we can spend our time kibitzing about the regulars, and listening to explanations of the same old things that have been repackaged and resold countless times so as to cast their teller in a fashionably positive light, but without genuine enthusiasm all of these stories feel hollow to me at least. I don't care what people talk about; I just want their eyes to light up and their smiles, their real honest grins, to let me know that they are interested. It's just less dull.

Take HDstarcraft. A guy who just loves video games posts commentaries on all things related to Starcraft II on a Youtube channel by that name. You can find it here if interested: http://www.youtube.com/user/hdstarcraft?blend=2&ob=4. A year ago, his videos were grossing maybe 1k hits each. About five months ago, the page exploded, and now everything he posts receives 100k+ views. Starcraft itself is hardly that interesting, and there are countless other pages much like his that have failed to become popular. I believe it is hardly content that brings viewers slobbering by the masses to his page, but his attitude. Even if you are not a Starcraft, or even video game fan, I recommend that you go watch a few minutes of one of his videos. It should be easy to tell that he is pleased to be commentating. His attitude reflects itself in more ways than just with a happy voice though; his attention to detail and general obsession for Starcraft lead him to spew forth gems of wisdom like some kind of free wisdom gem spewing super-geyser. Much of what he says takes on relevance to our shared struggles to improve and our mutual triumph in achievement. Concepts like this would never be communicated so honestly and so simply by anyone without a consuming, brain eating, unquenchable sense of geekdom like his.

I take from HDSC and all the other fanatics I have met of late that balance is overrated. We aren't breaking any new ground without rabid commitment, and we certainly are not spending the majority of our time doing what we enjoy without it. Everyone has some geek in them, and most nourish it to some extent. Do it more. Geeks are in general better.