Geeks & Gatherings

It's late for a timely retrospective on PAX 2011, so I'll spare you.  It was cool that the convention annexed the Paramount Theater this year, and very convenient, especially compared to Benaroya Hall last year.  Otherwise, it was a PAX, and as such a great deal can be left unsaid.

I won't be the first person to notice an emerging "geek" counterculture.  It's certainly on display at PAX.  What I've noticed recently about people addressing large numbers of geeks is that a great deal of their humor consists of references to shared media experiences from the 80s and 90s.  "Humor" might not be the right term.  Anyway it seems odd to me.  I mean, I don't imagine mainstream public speakers being cheered when they display an awareness of American Idol, or whatever.  Or maybe they do.  I'll confess to not knowing from first or secondhand experience.

If my writing seems even more off-the-cuff than usual tonight, it might be because I am also talking to Girlfriend in another tab, and chatting with Cleverbot in another.  The latter encourages a breezy, somewhat whimsical style.

Anyway, regarding geeks, I have a theory.  If geeks (as we currently use the word) have anything in common it is an affinity for obscure pursuits.  And all of them (us?) (the relatively well-adjusted ones, anyway) have at one time or another been very happy to discover another person who shares their interests.  If certain PAX speakers are to be believed, it can be an epiphanic experience, and one of profound self-validation.  At any rate, my theory is that that is what geeks are largely trying to recreate.

I suppose that having an odd hobby isn't that different than being different in other ways.  Obviously, realizing you like Magic: The Gathering isn't as hard on a thirteen-year-old as realizing you're gay, say.  But I imagine the ritual of mass self-identification is common to subcultures that have been oppressed, to greater or lesser degrees.  Geeks just use media as their totems.

And in three paragraphs (and one digression) I have reduced my theory to a fairly banal observation.  Oh well.

I'm trying things out, seeing what I can keep up, before I sign a version of my personal contract, which I talked about last post.  The good news for you (assuming you are a regular) is that one of the terms of the contract is that I post here at least once a week.  But maybe I'll have more to say next time.

Oh, Bryan is in a thing on the internet.  I suppose it will appeal primarily to fans of JourneyQuest.  If you are not a fan of JourneyQuest, you should go become one, then come back and click that link.