But now it's different. Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg are classic computer geeks, and they're some of the most powerful people in the world. Bill Nye, who used to wear a bowtie to play up the geek image, now speaks to sold-out crowds in arenas. Traditionally geeky forms of entertainment like science fiction, fantasy, comics, and gaming have gone even more mainstream than science. The comic-con/gaming crowd is a proud and thriving subculture.
Still, if you want to be cool in today's world (and even middle aged people do these days) there are some topics still considered too geeky to talk about much. At most social gatherings, you're much safer talking about TV or football than science or philosophy. Those topics make people squirm.
Of course, sometimes talking about that kind of thing is socially awkward for legitimate reasons. If someone just isn't interested in science, for example, then it's rude (or at least socially tone-deaf) to yammer on at them about it. Still, it's striking just how many people aren't interested in intellectual topics. What's even more striking is how many people who are interested in them are uncomfortable talking about them in a social setting. Clearly, there's a stigma at work here. There's still a distinct air of uncoolness surrounding many intellectual topics. I think that's a shame, but I also think it's interesting to think about how the stigma works.
Think about what you have to do if you want to talk about geeky topics without making people edge away from you nervously. First, you have to make it clear you know it's geeky, and be ready to change the subject as soon people start cringing or gazing off into the distance. You have to be aware of the uncoolness; few things scream "geek" as loudly as social obliviousness. Second, you have to joke about it. You don't want to sound too cerebral, too serious, or too into stuff like that. Not if you want to be cool, anyway.
Why does doing those things let you off the hook? First, as I mentioned, I think acknowledging that the topic is considered geeky shows that you aren't oblivious. You know what the rules are, and you're consciously breaking them. As for joking, it seems to have a similar purpose--it distances you from the ideas you're talking about, so their stigma doesn't stick to you.
Plus, it's just not cool these days to sound too earnest or innocent. Some of today's biggest idols are comedians who excel in a particularly modern brand of never-serious, always-ironic humor. Think about Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert. They host intellectuals and discuss real ideas on their shows, but they're only able to do it by constantly joking; sneaking in the big ideas by wrapping them in a cloud of jokes. Their associate, Jon Oliver, has built a whole show around this approach. Serious ideas are still getting out there, but what does it say about our culture that this is the most effective way to get people to pay attention to them? As brilliant as I think Colbert is, sometimes I wish he would lay off the jokes and let whoever he's interviewing talk. I suspect he wishes he could do that too sometimes, but then, of course, the show would flop.
How did we get so averse to sincerity? Maybe it's a defense mechanism against the barrage of advertising and political spin we're faced with these days--advertisers and politicians would love for us to still be as fresh-faced and gullible as the beaming drones in ads from the fifties. Still, stigmatizing earnestness can be a problem, because there are times when it's called for. Besides, as somebody once said (maybe Oscar Wilde but I can't confirm that), "If nothing is serious, then nothing is funny."
In any case, Stewart and Colbert certainly aren't geeks--at least in the sense of being awkward or unpopular. They're enormously popular. They're what I think of as smart-cool--they address serious or tough ideas, but they avoid being geeky with comedy.
But then, alas, there are the dumb-cool people: the airheaded celebrities and dumb jocks of the world, and the legions of people who want to be like them. These folks are in no danger of being seen as geeks, because they never talk about science, philosophy, history or anything boring like that. If u talk about that stuff u must b a total geek LOL!
When I think about it, it seems to me there are two related stigmas going on here: a stigma against intellectualism, and a stigma against seeming too earnest or innocent. First, a strain of anti-intellectualism always been common in American culture. We're still enough of a frontier society that many people have more respect for brawn than brains. Add to that the modern obsession with celebrities, which pretty much guarantees that brains will take a back seat to physical beauty, fashion, or an entertaining personality. Think about what the stereotypical caricature of geeks--they don't have brawn, they aren't good-looking, they aren't fashionable, and they're socially awkward. They're the antithesis of both the frontier tough guy and the stylish movie star. Yes, they usually have brains, but brains just aren't valued as highly in our culture--especially pop culture--as those other things. And that, again, is a shame.
But humor is valued--especially the kind of ultra-ironic humor I mentioned above. But that brings us to the second kind of stigma, against seriousness or earnestness. The result is that the only way you can get away with discussing serious ideas, if you want to still be cool, is acting like you're not really serious about them. And really, that's a shame, too.
Of course, sometimes talking about that kind of thing is socially awkward for legitimate reasons. If someone just isn't interested in science, for example, then it's rude (or at least socially tone-deaf) to yammer on at them about it. Still, it's striking just how many people aren't interested in intellectual topics. What's even more striking is how many people who are interested in them are uncomfortable talking about them in a social setting. Clearly, there's a stigma at work here. There's still a distinct air of uncoolness surrounding many intellectual topics. I think that's a shame, but I also think it's interesting to think about how the stigma works.
Think about what you have to do if you want to talk about geeky topics without making people edge away from you nervously. First, you have to make it clear you know it's geeky, and be ready to change the subject as soon people start cringing or gazing off into the distance. You have to be aware of the uncoolness; few things scream "geek" as loudly as social obliviousness. Second, you have to joke about it. You don't want to sound too cerebral, too serious, or too into stuff like that. Not if you want to be cool, anyway.
Why does doing those things let you off the hook? First, as I mentioned, I think acknowledging that the topic is considered geeky shows that you aren't oblivious. You know what the rules are, and you're consciously breaking them. As for joking, it seems to have a similar purpose--it distances you from the ideas you're talking about, so their stigma doesn't stick to you.
Plus, it's just not cool these days to sound too earnest or innocent. Some of today's biggest idols are comedians who excel in a particularly modern brand of never-serious, always-ironic humor. Think about Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert. They host intellectuals and discuss real ideas on their shows, but they're only able to do it by constantly joking; sneaking in the big ideas by wrapping them in a cloud of jokes. Their associate, Jon Oliver, has built a whole show around this approach. Serious ideas are still getting out there, but what does it say about our culture that this is the most effective way to get people to pay attention to them? As brilliant as I think Colbert is, sometimes I wish he would lay off the jokes and let whoever he's interviewing talk. I suspect he wishes he could do that too sometimes, but then, of course, the show would flop.
How did we get so averse to sincerity? Maybe it's a defense mechanism against the barrage of advertising and political spin we're faced with these days--advertisers and politicians would love for us to still be as fresh-faced and gullible as the beaming drones in ads from the fifties. Still, stigmatizing earnestness can be a problem, because there are times when it's called for. Besides, as somebody once said (maybe Oscar Wilde but I can't confirm that), "If nothing is serious, then nothing is funny."
In any case, Stewart and Colbert certainly aren't geeks--at least in the sense of being awkward or unpopular. They're enormously popular. They're what I think of as smart-cool--they address serious or tough ideas, but they avoid being geeky with comedy.
But then, alas, there are the dumb-cool people: the airheaded celebrities and dumb jocks of the world, and the legions of people who want to be like them. These folks are in no danger of being seen as geeks, because they never talk about science, philosophy, history or anything boring like that. If u talk about that stuff u must b a total geek LOL!
When I think about it, it seems to me there are two related stigmas going on here: a stigma against intellectualism, and a stigma against seeming too earnest or innocent. First, a strain of anti-intellectualism always been common in American culture. We're still enough of a frontier society that many people have more respect for brawn than brains. Add to that the modern obsession with celebrities, which pretty much guarantees that brains will take a back seat to physical beauty, fashion, or an entertaining personality. Think about what the stereotypical caricature of geeks--they don't have brawn, they aren't good-looking, they aren't fashionable, and they're socially awkward. They're the antithesis of both the frontier tough guy and the stylish movie star. Yes, they usually have brains, but brains just aren't valued as highly in our culture--especially pop culture--as those other things. And that, again, is a shame.
But humor is valued--especially the kind of ultra-ironic humor I mentioned above. But that brings us to the second kind of stigma, against seriousness or earnestness. The result is that the only way you can get away with discussing serious ideas, if you want to still be cool, is acting like you're not really serious about them. And really, that's a shame, too.
