Thoughts from the Front: Nerds
Nerds
Friday I walked down to the local game store to trade in two xbox 360 games towards the purchase of a new one, a great practice by the way... As I was browsing the shelf I noticed a couple squatty guys dressed in black with greasy hair shuffling about mumbling quietly to each other about this and that; by their habits I assumed they were nerds. As I reached up to grab a game off the shelf I suddenly heard a voice spark up directly behind me. I turned to see one of the nerds standing there staring, head slightly cocked to the side, at the game in my hand. "I like that game. My level character is a level 65 blah-blah and I've been really focusing on my magic spells, especially the fire ones. My brother thinks I'm being stupid, but his character is only level 43 and hes a soldier so I don't...." Nerd speak. I followed the nerd's points out, nodding in affirmation every so often while he droned on about the nuances of various different game details and his thoughts about them. I've talked to nerds before, so I knew the type and how to handle him, and after a while I put the game back on the shelf, grabbed another one and politely excused myself and paid the balance on my purchase. As I left the store I thought about my encounter with the nerd:
Nerds are not bad people; I'd say they are generally honest and well-meaning and while they don't have many social skills they are completely non-pretentious, something I really appreciate. The nerd in the game store had no problem with jumping straight into a conversation with me about the game I was holding, he completely dispensed with the usual BS and got straight to the point he wanted to make. Hell, if more people would just dump the BS small-talk life would be a lot smoother and less stressful. Think of how much energy it takes to pretend to like someone, or force a conversation where no conversation is needed; as an office worker this is a daily part of my life and I'll be the first to say I wouldn't mind to see it go away.
Friday I walked down to the local game store to trade in two xbox 360 games towards the purchase of a new one, a great practice by the way... As I was browsing the shelf I noticed a couple squatty guys dressed in black with greasy hair shuffling about mumbling quietly to each other about this and that; by their habits I assumed they were nerds. As I reached up to grab a game off the shelf I suddenly heard a voice spark up directly behind me. I turned to see one of the nerds standing there staring, head slightly cocked to the side, at the game in my hand. "I like that game. My level character is a level 65 blah-blah and I've been really focusing on my magic spells, especially the fire ones. My brother thinks I'm being stupid, but his character is only level 43 and hes a soldier so I don't...." Nerd speak. I followed the nerd's points out, nodding in affirmation every so often while he droned on about the nuances of various different game details and his thoughts about them. I've talked to nerds before, so I knew the type and how to handle him, and after a while I put the game back on the shelf, grabbed another one and politely excused myself and paid the balance on my purchase. As I left the store I thought about my encounter with the nerd:
Nerds are not bad people; I'd say they are generally honest and well-meaning and while they don't have many social skills they are completely non-pretentious, something I really appreciate. The nerd in the game store had no problem with jumping straight into a conversation with me about the game I was holding, he completely dispensed with the usual BS and got straight to the point he wanted to make. Hell, if more people would just dump the BS small-talk life would be a lot smoother and less stressful. Think of how much energy it takes to pretend to like someone, or force a conversation where no conversation is needed; as an office worker this is a daily part of my life and I'll be the first to say I wouldn't mind to see it go away.
Labels: Nerds
posted by doeman at
10:04 PM
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