Nerds

Silliness aside, there are some aspects of the "nerd" subculture which I find more than a little worrying. Especially the way in which it seems to conflate an enjoyment for certain forms of pop culture (science fiction, comic books, an so on) with intelligence, and consider it as a reason for thinking themselves better than others.

I scarcely needs to say this; but while there is nothing wrong with enjoying Spiderman, enjoying Spiderman is not an achievement.

Plus, there is the issue of escapism. I have nothing against fantasizing; but fantasies should enrich Real Life, not replace it altogether, I think. However, the sentiment of at least part of the Nerd "community" seems to be more along the lines of Rich Fantasy Lives:

This? This I cannot agree with in the least. That's not Bastian Balthazar Bux going to Fantasia and back and making both Fantasia and Earth richer, that's Bastian getting stuck into Fantasia forever (as he barely avoided doing).

edited 31st Mar '12 1:52:22 PM by Carciofus

It all comes down to how much you immerse yourself in fandom or the stuff you like. Every obsession and every addiction is bad for you, always, and I'm not saying "Don't do cosplay, or write Fan Fiction, or go to cons" and all that, I'm just saying that everything taken too far is bad, and potentially dangerous.

As for being proud to be a Nerd and thinking yourself better than everyone else for it, I'd disagree for the same reason I dislike any sort of Pride. You're not supposed to be proud of the stuff you are or the stuff you enjoy, you're supposed to be proud of the things you've done. College degree? Something to be proud of. Moving out of your parents' and getting your own place? Something to be proud of. Having a job and being able to sustain yourself, economically? That's something to be proud of. Watching a certain TV Show, reading a certain comic book, being gay, being straight, being democrat, being republican is not inherently something to be proud of. If you do something with it, you can take pride in it, but all the time I hear people going "I'm [blank] and proud of it!", which is absolutely stupid.

Everything in Moderation, Including Moderation!

Of course! If you're too moderated, you become the Jack of All Stats.

The mods here are pretty reasonable.

This is too idealistic. Escapism is a vicious cycle undergone to run away from a bigger, even more vicious one. Here's the thing: it doesn't work. No matter how many Demiliches you kill or Tanks you cr0wn or Heatrans you 2HKO, you're still not going to be well-liked (cause you still play "kiddy games") and you'll never get a girlfriend (cause all the girls are hanging with the "popular kids"). The only way out of this cycle is to accept who you are and accept this. Not to escape into a fantasy world.

edited 1st Apr '12 10:29:00 AM by Nizbel

Yeah, that whole song reeks of utter passivity.

Fantasy should be a tool to give one better instruments to affect reality, not a tool to eschew reality altogether or to wait around in the vague hope that "something better arrives".

I hate nerds, that's why I give them wedgies and hang them by their underwear from the top of the flagpole. After I take their lunch money of course.

Well, we know who to phone if we want to make a teen movie and need an antagonist.

How Original.

On the other hand, it can be argued that escapism is the entire point of fiction. And as we all know, it's not just limited to fantasy or nerds. Why do you think people watch action movies or read trashy romance novels? It's something better, a distraction from this Crapsack World we live in. And if it makes you happier, then I'm all for it. There's nothing wrong with taking a breather from a job that sucks (in this case, living).

However, that's only if it's just that. A breather. And I don't define "breather" by any length of time. You can spend all your days buried in books and movies as long as you remember one critical detail. Escapism is a fix for the heart, not your life. It's a temporary band-aid to help you get through tough times, not a substitute for reality. It sucks, and you don't have to spend all or even most of your time in it, but it's there. Denying it is impossible, and the results of trying, of confusing fantasy with reality, are... ugly. Trust me, I've learned that the hard way. Reality is reality, and escape from it is by definition to escape from sanity and reason.

edited 4th Apr '12 6:18:14 AM by KSPAM

There is nothing wrong with relaxing; but I think that fiction can serve higher purposes than mere relax. It trains imagination, and it can be used to teach useful insights about the real world.

What I object to is the tendency — which seems especially common in certain parts of the nerd community — to live life in function of fiction, and not the other way around.