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.

[lintninja.livejournal.com]

Hmmmmm.....interesting. I can identify groups with all of the fallacies. Suffer from som emysoef and am recovering nicely from others.

[kalimac.livejournal.com]

Well, I can believe in #1, and try to avoid formal ostracism. Like vgqn I haven't really encountered #3. #5 is very common and a huge headache. I wish #4 were true, and sometimes work on making it so, but have no trouble accepting when it isn't.

[numbat.livejournal.com]

Interesting enough but right at the start he seems to imply that everyone he deems a geek will believe in at least one of these fallacies. He also seemed to imply that these fallacies are geed specific which I don't believe they are. Item one for example is something I've seen everywhere. Furthermore he seems to be implying that if anybody does any of the things he lists that it must be because of the fallacy. To use item one as an example again if people put up with an unpleasant individual who has become part of the group surely there are other reasons for them doing so than the one postulated? It could just as easily be the people in question are frightened of conflict, indeed I think that's far more likely than some notion that everybody must be tolerated. All in all far too many dubious assumptions for my liking.

[akirlu.livejournal.com]

I think you're projecting assumptions onto the piece. But your observations about GSF #1 don't match mine at all. In my experience, the idea that ostracizing individuals is never okay is far more frequent in geek subcultures than the overculture. Perhaps this is an antipodean difference, or a matter of idiosynchracies of observation between us, however.