274: Geeks in the Mist

Amanda Yesilbas

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Dec 12, 2008
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Geeks in the Mist

An intrepid anthropologist orchestrates a daring long-term study of Geeks and discovers that they are hiding among us.

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Dorkmaster Flek

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Mar 13, 2008
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Fantastic tongue-in-cheek satire, but I think you may be discounting some successful, proud geeks. The most visible case studies would be the Penny Arcade guys, probably. I myself take pride in my geek level, most notably through my borderline obsession with Rock Band. :)
 

Tempest13

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Aug 23, 2010
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I found it wonderfully amusing to read. It's a hilarious parody of a standard documentary (obviously Gorillas in the Mist) with jokes about geeks whose tendencies become secret hobbies instead of facets of their identities. There are definitely those who don't follow this pattern, but it makes the ones that do all the more amusing. Also my Anime club is completely different from the one you described.
 

Nietz

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Dec 1, 2009
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A very fun read. Couldn't relate that much to the case studies, since I live in a different habitat. But still, a fun read with good satire.
 

Deviluk

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Jul 1, 2009
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I've hidden my geekiness for years, and I'm only 20. But its true, my friends and I have codes and phrases only we know, because they are based from geek culture (monty python, etc).

Good article!
 

Jacob.pederson

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Jul 25, 2006
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My geekdom fully encrusts the bedroom, living room, not to mention parts of the hallway and bathroom. It includes, but is not limited to three 60 - 100 inch screens (one of which is 3d), 16 TB of storage space on two servers, four gaming PC's, 6 consoles, 4 electronic drum sets, one real drum set, and about four bookshelves full of the best games of my times.

I am married with a (lucky) nine-year-old Gmod fan and an IT career :) So, I guess I don't fit any of the observations of this article ;)
 

Jenx

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Dec 5, 2007
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While I don't agree with some of the data you presented in this study, I'd have to say it's still a valiant effort of understanding this often misunderstood species. I solute you!
 

Bobipine

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Jan 22, 2010
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While a dedicated research of fifteen years is quite a feat, I can't help but notice that the researcher omitted to widen it's search area, opening the door to some oddities present only to the specimens of the direct habitat. Naturally, a larger scale study would have probably cost a lot more, and wouldn't have procured results in such depths of the matter. I suggest we keep this study as a reference of the future studies on the subject, and to compare each others for similarities and oddities.

I myself is near a potential herd, which, we can already see differences between your studied herd, I would speculate that the geek species are closely subject to the flow of time, to be prepared for the camouflage later on.

In seriousness, that was a pretty interesting way to put things, and I can actually see some of the phenomenons described, not all of them yet though, I suspect it's the fact I'm still at university, so all the changes still haven't manifested themselves.
 

bojac6

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Oct 15, 2009
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THAC0 hasn't been around since Advanced Dungeons and Dragons. How long ago did you begin this study? Geek tribes, like many other primates, adapt quickly to changes and developments into their environment. More recent studies demonstrate that hitting zero, while still an underlying principle, has been substantially modified and adjusted by Geeks to enable more leisure time.
 

Lyndraco

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Jun 12, 2008
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As a fellow anthropologist, I am simultaneously amused by the intended satire and cringing because I have read reports that read exactly like this. Real life, scientific reports about real people--which is pretty scary. The next time you read about some study that looked at a given group and determined something, think back to this article and question their results!
 

Straz

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Jan 10, 2010
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Lyndraco said:
As a fellow anthropologist, I am simultaneously amused by the intended satire and cringing because I have read reports that read exactly like this. Real life, scientific reports about real people--which is pretty scary. The next time you read about some study that looked at a given group and determined something, think back to this article and question their results!
I wasn't sure whether or not this was how an anthropological article should be conducted and at about page two I was almost certain it was a satire, but nonetheless unsure if articles on actual people have been presented this way.

Quite frightening.
 

h0wdyth3r3

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Sep 16, 2010
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I read this article in my head with that tone of voice that one normally reserves for those nature-show commentators. You know what I'm talking about... "See here how the honey bee dances gently this way and that, all in an elaborate dance to show her companions where the sugar is." I must say, I thoroughly enjoyed the humour. Hat's off to you :)
 

Jenx

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h0wdyth3r3 said:
I read this article in my head with that tone of voice that one normally reserves for those nature-show commentators.
Crikey, mate?
 

JJMUG

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Jan 23, 2010
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h0wdyth3r3 said:
I read this article in my head with that tone of voice that one normally reserves for those nature-show commentators. You know what I'm talking about... "See here how the honey bee dances gently this way and that, all in an elaborate dance to show her companions where the sugar is." I must say, I thoroughly enjoyed the humour. Hat's off to you :)
Like Leonard Nimoy in civ 4? i read it half like that and half like Look Around You.
 

JEBWrench

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Apr 23, 2009
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God DAMN it. I knew someone was watching me in University! I just knew it!

Honestly, you literally just described my post-secondary years. Bravo.
 

ranger19

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Nov 19, 2008
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I get that this had good-natured intentions, but unlike most people I found this piece sounding a little degrading at times. But maybe it had something to do with this:

Amanda Yesilbas said:
After the viewing of films, much to this researcher's surprise and delight, the herd retired to a private lair to participate in an arcane and somewhat mysterious game involving dice and mathematical calculations.
The goal of the game was to hit an imaginary number called zero.
Oh dear lord, could you have chosen a worse adjective to describe the number zero? An imaginary number is i, as in the square root of -1. Zero is a real number. Especially in an article for geeks about geeks presumably written by a geek... how could you have messed that up?!
 

Badwolf14

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Aug 6, 2010
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Wait.....that was you hiding in the bushes with the binoculars? I thought I was seeing things for a moment >.>




Btw really enjoyed reading this and found it funny as one who is also a geek (or partial geek)