MovieBob said:
A Nerd By Any Other Name
This week, Bob examines parallel nerds.
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Yeah, wow. I've made the
exact same jersey-to-scifi-costume comparison before a few issues back when we were talking about abandoning space. The conclusion I've come to as to the difference?
Imagination.
The more imagination an endeavor requires, the more "childish" it is. We pretend it's about practicality, but (as you also pointed out) sports aren't practical. I'm looked at as a goof for enjoying fencing, but I'm
far more likely to end up in a swordfight than in a situation in which my only hope of survival is kicking an oblong balloon through two uprights a fair distance away.
When my dad bought the same equipment Tiger Woods was using for golf, it was because a tiny voice in his head wanted him to pretend to be Tiger Woods. That's imagination talking. And we're forgetting the immense value it has in our ability to improve ourselves and our world... or even solve basic problems. How can the world get better if there's no one with the ability to
imagine what that "better world" looks like?
Really, the difference between "sports nerds" and "nerd nerds" is the difference between the child that swims in the deep end and the child that sticks near the side. Keeping one hand on the edge allows the child to act like the pool is shallower than it really is. It doesn't change reality, it just changes the amount of control the child feels they have over reality. Meanwhile, the other child is able to fully enjoy the depth of that other end of the pool, but at greater risk.
The negative traits ascribed to nerds are, to my mind, a result of how they've been treated. We tend to think that nerdy people like nerdy things. I think the opposite is true--I think that people who like things that are considered "nerdy" are treated in a way that causes them to, eventually, behave like nerds. Introverted, even anti-social. Awkward. Obsessed. All of that stuff.
People don't understand the significance of the "nerd subject matter." Why does Spiderman's height or weight matter? They conveniently forget to ask why Babe Ruth's home run record means a damn thing, of course. But it's not about the subject itself.
It's about immersing yourself in something. It's about giving your imagination some exercise. And yeah, it's about entertainment and having fun with something. But part of
why we can enjoy it is that it's not "practical" or "useful." It's not work, it's play. And God help us, the world would be better off if
adults would play more (and admit to doing it).
