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capri0mniPersonally, I prefer Geek to Nerd. "Geek" traces back to at least 16th Century English, and originally (before it meant "Side show 'freak') meant "Village idiot."
In this modern world, of the Internet and global mass media, I think of "village idiot" as the person or persons who have little knowledge of the "Water Cooler Chat" subjects such as which X celebrity has fallen off the A-list, or what sports season it is, or whatever else is the publicly endorsed subject of enthusiasm. So when we find ourselves standing near the water cooler, or waiting for the elevator, we really have nothing to add to the conversation, and so we appear idiotic.
Meanwhile, the things we are interested in? We love them unabashedly, and we want to share what we love with others, and we have no interest in playing the cynic or hipster in order to gain acceptance or avoid teasing. That gleeful enthusiasm is what makes a geek, imnsho. And so, our "rattling on" about whatever has sparked our imagination comes across to our "fellow villagers" as inane babbling.
But the truth is: The world is cool. And it's full of so many more things to be enthusiastic about besides the latest pretty body. And life is too short, and too full of real angst and anger and energy-wasting problems to willfully waste any more energy to pretend to be aloof to the things that are actually closest to our heart.
Todaymeloukhia posted in her journal about making pie. And she decorated it with pi. And that reminded me of a video I found on YouTube, posted on Pi Day (March 14) about how "Pi is Wrong" (philosophically speaking, as a mathematical tool, not incorrect), and the vid-maker illustrated her points by baking pies. I went back to watch it again. It was amusing, but what really made me happy was this vid:
I'm sorry I don't have a transcript, yet, but she talks so fast, and she doodles so fast, it's hard for me to get my ears and head around it. But I hope to come up with something passable in the not-too-distant future.
And in the meantime, even though math is not "my thing," I can't help but find her glee contagious (and she's given me ART!Ideas). And that's the way it is with all geeks, I think.
In this modern world, of the Internet and global mass media, I think of "village idiot" as the person or persons who have little knowledge of the "Water Cooler Chat" subjects such as which X celebrity has fallen off the A-list, or what sports season it is, or whatever else is the publicly endorsed subject of enthusiasm. So when we find ourselves standing near the water cooler, or waiting for the elevator, we really have nothing to add to the conversation, and so we appear idiotic.
Meanwhile, the things we are interested in? We love them unabashedly, and we want to share what we love with others, and we have no interest in playing the cynic or hipster in order to gain acceptance or avoid teasing. That gleeful enthusiasm is what makes a geek, imnsho. And so, our "rattling on" about whatever has sparked our imagination comes across to our "fellow villagers" as inane babbling.
But the truth is: The world is cool. And it's full of so many more things to be enthusiastic about besides the latest pretty body. And life is too short, and too full of real angst and anger and energy-wasting problems to willfully waste any more energy to pretend to be aloof to the things that are actually closest to our heart.
Today
meloukhia posted in her journal about making pie. And she decorated it with pi. And that reminded me of a video I found on YouTube, posted on Pi Day (March 14) about how "Pi is Wrong" (philosophically speaking, as a mathematical tool, not incorrect), and the vid-maker illustrated her points by baking pies. I went back to watch it again. It was amusing, but what really made me happy was this vid:I'm sorry I don't have a transcript, yet, but she talks so fast, and she doodles so fast, it's hard for me to get my ears and head around it. But I hope to come up with something passable in the not-too-distant future.
And in the meantime, even though math is not "my thing," I can't help but find her glee contagious (and she's given me ART!Ideas). And that's the way it is with all geeks, I think.
no subject
Date: 2011-05-12 06:02 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-05-12 08:38 pm (UTC)semordnilaP
Darn. It doesn't look like "palindrome" can ever be in an English palindrome. How ironic is that?
Anyway, last week on my favorite panel quiz radio show, their "Guest 'star'" was a stand-up comic who specilizes in geeky jokes, and especially palindromes. The transcript of that segment is here: Demetri Martin Plays "Not my Job".
no subject
Date: 2011-05-13 04:53 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-05-13 05:33 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-05-13 08:43 pm (UTC)And the tatoo!
New, exciting things to geek on!
no subject
Date: 2011-05-13 08:58 pm (UTC)And yeah... Knowing that it always works takes out some of the fussiness of coming up with a new design, unless you want to make it symmetrical, or a fit a specific pattern for a specific perpose (and even then, now that we have scanners, and computer programs that can copy and rotate pictures along various axes for us, it makes it easier to just play without fret).
Oh, and about the third time I watched it, I caught her "Snakes on a Plane!" joke... ;-)