Not Nerdy Enough?

Matt Smith

And, as far as hats go, they look really awkward and dorky.

One of my friends gave me this book for my birthday last year. He said it was because his first thought on meeting me for the first time, all those years ago, was 'why is he wearing a fez?'

'All he needs is for somebody to throw handgrenades at him for the rest of his life...'

Before Matt Smith, fezzes were famous for being worn by monkeys in Morocco. They were cooler then, too.

Over here they're more often associated with Tommy Cooper or strange men in smoking jackets (it's an Empire thing).

edited 15th Nov '12 6:05:40 AM by InverurieJones

'All he needs is for somebody to throw handgrenades at him for the rest of his life...'

I thought they were associated with Morocco Mole.

Insert witty and clever quip here. My page, as the database hates my handle.

@Previous page: Escapism isn't bad per se, provided it doesn't take over your life.

Eating a Vanilluxe will give you frostbite.

I'm derided as a hipster by myself. Somehow it hasn't killed me yet.

If by "escapism" one means an appreciation for fiction and imagination, I can certainly agree that it is not bad per se: it is a fundamental aspect of the human experience, after all. An imagination-less human life would not be a fully developed one.

But there is not a simple dichotomy between "harmless" and "takes over your life". Imagination is one of the most powerful faculties of humankind, and it can mess you up in any number of ways if you don't keep it under check. The stereotypical "basement-dweller" (what's the deal with basements, by the way? I never really understood that) is only one example; another, perhaps less extreme one might be, I dunno, a postdoctoral researcher who spends a bit too much time reading fanfiction (I am certain that I do not know anyone like that ).

One must strive for a balance between the various facets of human experience — imagination, sociability, search for truth, physicality, and so on. As I see it, many people with "nerdish" tendencies (included, of course, myself) have a dangerous tendency to devote too much room to imagination, to the detriment of the other aspects; and — and that's perhaps even more concerning — to focus on mostly receptive, passive forms of "escapism" rather than on more creative ones.

edited 15th Nov '12 8:28:58 PM by Carciofus

But they seem to know where they are going, the ones who walk away from Omelas.

Then I guess we're in agreement.

Eating a Vanilluxe will give you frostbite.