Five Geek Social Fallacies

[akirlu]

Interesting analysis of root causes of angst and dysfunction in geek social circles. Of the five fallacies he lists, the one that seemed most distinctively geek-ish, and sadly familiar, was the first: Ostracizers are Evil. Certainly there were several cycles of that meme on rassef-that-was -- one (usually new) person or another would get up on a soap-box and denounce anybody who tried to enforce the local cultural norms as rotten, mean, wicked no-goodniks. For that matter in meatspace, I long ago noticed that it takes rilly substantial provocation to get LASFS to toss anybody out, and thus you get the social greshaming-out of people who believe in minimal standards of hygiene and social aptitude. But a lot of the other observations ring familiar as well --I'm surely victim to the occasional belief, or at least wish, that all my friends should get along with each other too -- and there were several "ah-ha!" moments in it. If you've hung around with fans much, you might find it insightful. If nothing else, it gives one some extra tools to analyze social dynamics gone awry. I can certainly see a lot of the YFYP (Your Feelings, Your Problem) species of assholishness in my own reactions to the fallacies. Anyway, an interesting read. I commend it to you.

Comments

[vgqn.livejournal.com]

Interesting. Although #3 doesn't resonate at all for me. I think of that more as a frat/sorority kind of thing.