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Why do geeks look like geeks?
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*cries* My point is that I was making a joke about a hollywood cliche. And I'm more geeky than anyone else? What the hell does that mean? Is it a compliment, attack, or just a statement?
Let's take a shot at your train of thought.
1. Reads topic that states the obvious, there is a tendency for very technically inclined people to look more like the stereotypical nerd than their peers, and that questions why this is so.
2. Somehow concludes that this is an attack on those people, and that the OP has illusions of being better than the people he is labelling 'geeks'.
It sounds to me like you read more into my comments than is really there.
fixed
Seriously, what is there to discuss here?
Lots of 'jocks' I know are retarded people.
LOLS STEREOTYPES
Why are oranges orange? Because that is the colour oranges are!
I suppose I wasn't clear enough in the initial post. Why are we able to label an appearance as being 'excessively geeky'? What is it about the habits and interests of such people that morphs their appearance into something that can be catagorized? Or, is it because they naturally look geeky, that they are driven towards these pursuits. Maybe a combination of the two... that is what I was asking. That is what I wanted the discussion to revolve around.
-skinny or overweight (no exercise)
-pale (too much time indoors)
-unkempt (don't care about 'beauty' - this means stuff like zits, wacky hair, etc)
-awkward clothing (because style is not something they care about)
THINGS THAT LEAD A PERSON TO GRAVITATE TO GEEKYNESS
-socially awkward (if you have a hard time with people, excel in things that don't require people!)
-physically awkward (hard to play sports when your body is lanky and weird, or if you are HORRIBLY DEFORMED)
now, i used to play magic: the gathering. holy fuck was that an ugly-ass crew. i walked past a hobbyshop the other day and saw some guy carrying a heroclix box. goddamn, the guy looked like shit.
i think it's dependent on whether or not you're obsessed with what you do or not. my friends and i engage in a myriad of activities, and we like to get drunk on expensive booze, we dislike pimples, and we go to radiohead concerts. when i was a magic player, that's probably about all i cared about, playing games, and my appearance reflected it. i care far more about socializing outside my game crew than i did before, and an improvement in appearance was necessary to make that happen.
They, in your defination, are geeky because *Shock, Horror!* they want to be! *Shock, Horror!* They like the crowd they are in and they like to dress that way. There is no thinking behind it. It seems your the one with the problem and them not meeting your standards or something.
Geeks often look the way they do because a lot of them are introverted, and dont have the social awareness, or desire to be more outwardly attractive.
Like, any one of them could go to a decent hair salon and ask for a stylish cut, but clearly none of them has made that a priority
i like meeting cool geeks IRL - because they straddle the stereotypes/rise above them, and generally look better and are more fun to go out and do social things with. They are typically more well-rounded people, and it shows that they have other interests beyond their geeky pursuits.
edit: I was just saying to someone the other day that I differentiate geeks and nerds as as having geeky interests vs being so involved in those pursuits as to the detriment of other areas in life
i guess if there's a criticism to made here, its against people who focus on one avenue of interests or pursuits to such a degree that they leave other major areas of life underdeveloped to their own detriment.
there's no reason you cant be into super geeky things, and still by physically healthy/fit, have a good relationship, look attractive, etc etc
and Operation Flashpoint: Red River code to trade/sell
and Halo: Reach code
and Portal 2 code
Pretty much everyone I like is a nerd. I'm totally a fucking nerd. Nerd implies having tremendous interest in a topic or topics and will do very "geeky" things with them. I've been to poetry readings, read books on sonatas and meter, and read every indie music mag I can get my hands on.
However, I'm also a reasonably hip person. I take care of myself, and look more or less normal. (I LOOK HIP NOT SHAGGY GODDAMN IT!
I think that Geeks are a sort of HYPER-nerd. (Please not I have nothing against geeks. If my interests were physics and MTG I'm sure I would be a wicked geek. My brother, one of the coolest people I know, is also a fucking geek par excellence) The dedication that nerds give to their interests is intensified, as is their social skills, or, rather, lack there of. This lends to a sort of "Mad-Professor/Philosopher" stereotype, where all is sacrificed in the pursuit of said interest, and they can only interact with like minded people.
It seems that certain interests have a higher population of geeks. (Lookin at you, Star Trek.) But still, go to something like a Gardening convention or a sports-writers meeting. HELLA GEEKS there.
Again, there isn't much wrong with being a geek. You will know more about your passion than ANYONE, and there is a definite sense of accomplishment - something a lot of people do not have in their life. Perhaps it's more satisfying to finish a D&D campaign than to get some meaningless, Sisyphean promotion.
A lot of them will grow out of it to look perfectly normal. They look less geeky and more just young. The good-looking, "cool" guys tend to just look more like adult men already due to their builds or what-have-you.
That's not my stance, but I do think the correlation between intelligence and education is not as strong as you think it is. And that a large part (though obviously not all) of what differentiates top scholastic achievers and the average kid is how much they care. The top scholastic achievers often only do so well because they enjoy it/care (obvious) and the "average" kid (to include many "jocks") would be able to do much more if they enjoyed it/cared. The gap in intelligence between these groups as a whole (as opposed to individual geniuses and the nearly retarded) is often not as far apart as the gap in educational achievement would suggest. That's all I'm sayin'.
Don't worry, I at least got the joke. It was actually pretty funny, and would have gone over better if you hadn't annoyed the audience first. :wink:
True, but oddly this thread encouraged me to really look around a bit at my EE classes today. Even in junior-level classes, where you figure the ages are more in the 20-and-up range, there are some seriously geeky looking motherfuckers in there. And a majority of the class is moderately to fairly geeky-lookin'.
Whats so wrong with not doing this? Granted I like going out for walks by myself and admiring the scenery I don't exercise or care what I wear. I am not fat by any means, but normal skinny sort of, but I don't care about the clothes outside of the office. Why should I dress up to some standard just to make it easier to see me? What will I get out of that? Nothing. I like myself and the clothes I wear are functional and its what I wear. Your mind and your spirit are more freaking important than some designer shit you wear.
I don't understand why this is all so freaking important. If I don't want to speak to "Cool" people or be like "Cool" people, why look down at me? Just because I am not at your standard?
Drunks Against Mad Mothers
Anyway.
Of course, these are all kind of superficial characteristics, but hey, I'll be the first to admit that I have some superficial relationships, and I don't think that's anything to be ashamed of. You're not a superficial person unless you care excessively (or only) about superficial characteristics and have too many superficial relationships. But having superficial relationships doesn't limit your ability to have more meaningful relationships. In fact, a meaningful relationship almost always has to start as a superficial one.
Also, following trends religiously makes you lame and means you're probably trying too hard, but following trends you like makes you cool. Obviously these are all my opinions, not absolute statements, but for whatever reason labeling your opinions as such seems to be necessary in this thread.
This is where also the "geek" perception of how the dumb jock will never get ahead in life can also be a misleading. Because sports 99% of the time requires social interaction and teamwork, the jock probably feels more comfortable in a work environment , as long as he is of average intelligence.
Dunno, just my two cents after reading the thread.
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HAY GUYZ WILL SOME 1 TELL ME WHY THESE GUYS ARE SO BIG I MEAN WTF! WHY DO SPORTS TEAMS LOOK LIKE SPORTS TEAMZ?
IF THEY JUST SAT AROUND SOME MORE MAYBE THEY WOULD BE A LITTLE MORE PALE AND SLIM.
DO YOU THINK BEING BUFFED MAKES YOU A GOOD SPORTSMAN OR BEING SPORTY MAKES U BUFFED?????//
PLZ HELP ME UNRAVEL LIFE'S MYSTERIES.
ALSO, WHY DOES MY LAP DISSAPEAR WHEN I STAND UP? WHERE DOES IT GO?
Drunks Against Mad Mothers
- "Proving once again the deadliest animal of all ... is the Zoo Keeper" - Philip J Fry
I'm pretty sure social norms change when technology to become more of a geek is more accessible.
Edit: But that sounds stupid, because i'm sure most of everyone can afford some good D&D sets. But seriously, I see a lot of awesome geeks these days who care about how they look, not the high-pitched zit-filled sterotype that a lot of people glorify.
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I mean, I know I do (and rightfully so. Me=total geek), but it's only because I wear flannel shirts because it's cold out. I could look above par (at least, I think I could), I just don't want to freeze.
Is it so bad that some people choose functional clothes over trendy ones?
I know ass-tons of geeks who don't look geeky, but truly are at heart.
That said, I make one hell of an effort to do the little things right. Dress nicely, wear clean laundry, shower, groom my facial hair, use conditioner, wear cologne, etc. I also know lots of big dudes into nerd culture who would never worry about being called a nerd because they also do what they can to take care of themselves, and realize that your appearance does matter and plays a role in how other people view you. It may sound like an ugly stereotype, but the problem with most guys who wear the label do so because they don't want to put in the effort to take care of the little things.
I used to love playing RPGs and card games. I didn't stop because of the way my fellow gamers looked. I stopped because of the way they smelled.
The geek appearance stereotype is mostly because the people who do geeky things who look good are not referred to as geeks by others.
People are more likely to say "That hot girl plays video games" than "That hot girl is a geek."
I know a few of those.
The definition of a geek is constantly changing
Notice how none of them are wearing pocket protectors or taped-over glass bridges?
The original proposition was not very good because it was circular - yes, you could claim they look like geeks, but BY YOUR OWN DEFINITION that you created do they fit in that category. They don't look entirely like geeks in your eyes? Adjust your sight to include them.
Circular feedback loop, self-fulfilling prophecy.
Doc: That's right, twenty five years into the future. I've always dreamed on seeing the future, looking beyond my years, seeing the progress of mankind. I'll also be able to see who wins the next twenty-five world series.
Obviously not 100% true, but I have a chuckle now and then thinking about that.
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It's like a black guy calling another black guy a brother.
Heck, I only date/associate/cuddle women who fit the activity-based definition.
But half of them are so attractive they have to carry weapons.
I have above average Intellegence, I have gotten a job as a Business Analyst, but wait, here is the shocking part, I didn't change at all for me to get this far! *Shock Horror!*
It stupid to assume something just so you "think" that you will benefit for every damn thing. Instead of finding every superficial relationship, why not look for the right one from the start? Instead of saying lets bag her/him why not wait until your sure? Spending your life among people that you can associate with because they think alike are more important and impressing that girl/guy or that co-worker.
To much ideal has been passed down on to people to look good. Hell, in a business enviorment I have had to pass over trendy guys/girls because they took that much effort into looking good but put minial effort in thier brains. I look for normal people who have exceptional intellegence than stupid trendy looking people with below average intellegence.
Hell, me as a 23 years old, running a group of programmers in a business thats improved efficentcies through out the company has done a lot more by looking myself than most of the trendy guys I know.
By the way, that post makes you look like a shallow asshole.
But ideally, you want to be smart and very trendy and good looking. Because this way, you get the best of both worlds, and anyone who talks shit about you is just jealous.
Also, why can't you just find "the right girl" from your first relationship? Because the first girlfriend is pretty much the throw away girlfriend. Most people do not grow up to marry and have babies with the first girl they ever go out with, and those that do often end up in divorces and general unhappiness.
Thats exactly my point. There is no need for one to dress up/act a different way because society sees it fit. They can do whatever they want and the rest just have to accept it. If they don't its those who can't accept it that are to blame and not the geek/nerds.