Book Review: Nerds

One of the recent pinnacle texts exploring the anti-geek bias, Nerds: How Dorks, Dweebs, Techies, and Trekkies Can Save America, And Why They Might Be Our Last Hope (originally released in 2007 with a 2011 reprint) is written by David Anderegg, Ph.D who comes from a child therapy background and takes the focus of his book to what he knows best; childhood.

Much of our perceptions of the world, good or bad, are formed when we are children. If we are praised or bullied about certain things, especially in a recognizable pattern over time, we're going to develop an understanding of how the world works from these experiences. An unfortunately common occurrence in schools is kids being bullied for being "nerdy". This could take shape in any number of ways, and Anderegg goes in depth to explore where this comes from in a historical context as well as a cultural one for America specifically. It is a fascinating topic to explore, especially due to the fact that America is rather unique in its bias towards geeks and nerds or a certain anti-intellectualism, as it is formally referred to in the book.

A strong point that Anderegg makes is how dangerous this bias towards geeks and nerds is for our country in terms of our collective psyche as well as our economy if we create a culture where being interested in math, science, and/or technology is constantly discouraged by bullying in our schools and negative images in our media. While strides have been made in recent years, we still have a lot of work to do to break down these stereotypes and take back the mantle of geek pride.

I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in the topic of geek culture. I read it on the recommendation of a mentor of mine in this space and was glad I took some time for it. It definitely adds some scholarly credibility to any discussion you have on the topic.

What I'm Geeking Out About This Week - 05/02/14

Hey folks! Check out this cinematically focused week in geek:

• Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

I was checking out an anticipated list of Summer 2014 movies recently, and it dawned on me (see what I did there?!) that this movie is coming out in a few months. It hasn't gotten a lot of press since X-Men and Spider-Man have been dominating lately, but I am really looking forward to this movie. The first film was a dark horse that surprised everyone and I was a huge fan. I am very eager to see where they take the story further.

• The Amazing Spider-Man 2

Needless to say I am very excited for this movie. I'm a huge Spidey fan and all the stuff I've seen looks pretty great. I do worry that I have seen like all of the movie from all the promo images and trailers but I am sure there is still great stuff I haven't seen yet. I'm going to see it this weekend sometime so check out my tweets to get my immediate thoughts.

• Star Wars: Episode VII

So the new cast was announced recently and as I reflected on the reveal, I am still maintaining my initial thoughts on the possibility of this new proposed trilogy; cautiously optimistic. The cast as it stands now had a severe lack of female actors in it and I was never committed to the need for the original trilogy cast to be involved. I'm happy to have them passing the torch but it still feels like they are shoehorned in somehow without knowing exactly the story they want to tell. There is so much potential here but there is also the chance for another prequel trilogy that is divisive and becomes just a cash grab. We'll see what comes from all this as the months go on.

Thanks for stopping by! Come back next week for more geeky awesomeness. Have a great weekend!

Should You Drink a Bottle of Wine a Day?

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzUYAQZnQyw] This is an awesome video from the folks over at Discovery News (DNews for short). I really enjoy all the cool, educational videos they put up on their YouTube channel, all in short little clips no longer than a couple of minutes. I feel better about spending time with these videos rather than some of the other fodder on the Internet. It does a brain good!

Final X-Men: Days of Future Past Trailer!

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsjtg7m1MMM] I've gotta say, these trailers are making more and more excited for this movie to come out! Looks pretty awesome!

What do you think?

Why Geek Pride is Important

If you know me, you know that this topic is a major one for me. I just had a thought to formally write on my feelings after having finished Rutgers Geek Week at the end of March, connected with fellow student affairs nerds & geeks at ACPA in Indianapolis, and speaking on my learning for my final project in my graduate program. The latter event made me feel very strongly that this discussion is important.

When I was presenting, during the final question and answer period, I was challenged a lot on the branding I've chosen and using the moniker of "geek" as a badge of honor. Some were confused, others were wary due to negative stereotypes of geeks and nerds such as being "know-it-alls" or nonconformist or antisocial. It was hard to deflect and absorb everything in such a setting, since I didn't want to blow back on it too much since I needed to pass this presentation to graduate. I felt emotionally gut punched about it afterwards since I didn't expect such an antagonizing stance towards that out of everything I talked about and felt as though it hit to the core of who I am, making it all seem like it was foolish.

The work I and others try to do in this space is important. Geek pride is important because it fights bullying just because someone is a little different. Geek pride is important because it means creating a world where anyone can be proud of what they're into and pursue a life of passion. Geek pride is important because anti-intellectualism is dangerous for the future of our country. What I want to do is uplift all the awesome parts of what being a geek or nerd means; the passion, the community, the lessons and morals we hold dear that make us good people. I want to get away from the negative stereotypes and create spaces where people geek out about anything and everything they want, whenever they want, whether it is cars, comics, clothes, or consoles (tried really hard on that alliteration).

So here's to geeks, nerds, dorks, and dweebs. Make sure to bond with your closest friends for Geek Pride Day, which is on May 25.

Thanks for stopping by and keep spreading the good word.

Jedi-Approved Producitivity Tricks for the Business Traveler

I had to share this since it is another fun Star Wars related article from the folks over at Lifehacker on productivity and achieving success; exactly what I'm hoping to do for this blog. Hope you all enjoy!

Is There An Introvert Craze Because of Technology?

I posted this the other day on my various social media channels but I wanted to highlight it here as well. This video (from the cool PBS Idea Channel) has some very intriguing insights on the trend of highlighting the aspects of ourselves that are introverted and it is becoming quite the buzzword.

Are we all a little introverted? Is the word being overused? Check it out for some answers.

Strengths Finder, True Colors, and MBTI: Developing the Language of Leadership

I’m sure many of you are familiar with the popular personality tests Strengths Finder, True Colors, and MBTI (Myers-Briggs Type Inventory). They give you a list of questions and output a term, a type, or a temperament that describes how you interact with the world and those around you. I personally have Ideation, Connectedness, Intellection, Input, and Adaptability as my top five Strengths, in that order (here’s a good list of them all. I am also a Blue/Green (logically emotional like Spock I like to say) and I am an INFJ (a good description listed here).

What I think is the best part of these tests is that it gives me the language to describe who I am and what is important to me personally, which obviously impacts my work. A large part of being an effective leader is knowing one’s self. Taking these tests, and even taking them multiple times at different points in my life to see how I’ve changed, allows for a great deal of self-awareness. I know how I am typically so I can either let people know that or work to incorporate others better since I know what my quirks are. While I have heard some naysayers to these tests speaking to how they don’t like to be put in a box but I think knowing any one or all of these results is a good place to start to just be able to get others to understand you. You don’t need these tests to understand yourself necessarily but they definitely help others understand you. I’ve learned recently that this is a big step in working well with a team. I can be okay with myself and how I work but I need to be able to get others to be okay with how I do things or else there is going to be a lot of friction.

I encourage you to think about bringing these tools into your teams, especially with student staff members. They are trying to find themselves and their leadership style. These tests can enable them to be proud of their unique strengths and traits that make them great, rather than focus on their flaws. I know I felt like being an introvert was an issue, after exploring myself and what I have to offer, I am ready to tackle any issue head on in my own way. I know now my difference is an asset, not a weakness.

Young Women and STEM Careers

So I just wrote a paper for class on geek girls and STEM careers, which addressed the perceptions of geeks in popular culture as well as the perception of scientists, engineers, etc., all together creating a deterrent for women to get into these fields of work. It was awesome to explore this topic since it all coalesces to create an ill-structured problem for colleges and universities since more and more women are graduating college (more than men these days) but still more men are graduating with STEM related majors. I sought to figure out why women may not persist and what we can do it about on our campuses.

So the stereotypes of nerds, dorks, dweebs, and geeks are well known; awkward, pale, skinny, poindexters who are lonely and uncool. This perception is compounded by the idea of scientists who work in lab alone somewhere working on arbitrary tasks with no lives and are also most often portrayed as male. A big part of my paper focused on an awareness of these false stereotypes and why they persist. A big issue in the geek spheres is the contention over popular shows like Big Bang Theory, which is a mockery of nerds but at least puts characters in the limelight on network television. I'd far prefer people watch things like the new movie Zero Charisma. It is a far better look at the current nerd culture, and laughs with us rather than at us.

With the media influencing perceptions as well as not being in positive learning environments with proper support and role models, women typically don't persist in STEM. What we can do in college student affairs is encourage living-learning communities for these geek girls looking to get into the great work of STEM fields. It is important and crucial work in these fields and we need every able body at the table solving the problems of the day. Living-Learning communities have been proven to be an excellent tool to help women persist in this challenging landscape.

The image above is from an event we had this past year at Rutgers, Geek Week, which had a "Nerd Girl Panel" which hopefully inspired some attendees to either keep on their studies despite the difficulties or perhaps be an ally to someone who is working against the cultural grain. I hope we can keep giving folks a sense of belonging this upcoming year with the third year of Geek Week.

Spider-Man & Life/Work Balance

Greetings, true believers!

In an attempt to blog more regularly, I'm going to pour out some of my brain juices on a fun connection I talk about often and has even been mentioned on the episode I did for the Life/Work Balances Podcast earlier this year (check it out here). The idea is using Spider-Man as a foil for these discussions about how to find a more perfect balance in our lives.

Spider-Man is one of favorite superheroes for this reason, he always has to struggle with being Peter Parker and his job of being your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. He has to go to class, see his Aunt May, try to date Mary Jane (or Gwen Stacy), make sure to get some photos into J. Jonah Jameson, and just take care of himself. His workload is comparable to some of ours as student affairs people, so the juxtaposition gels.

Where I feel I can connect with the Spectacular Spidey is that he comes to a better balance when he doesn't put up a wall between his personal and "professional" lives. When he tells the people he cares about that he's this amazing hero, the walls come down and it is easier to live his life when he is authentic. The people in his life can help him and be there when he needs it.

I feel as though you can't ever really block off what's going on in your life from your work. They should blend together so that you are always genuinely you in everything that you do. Your passions should be on display and your colleagues able to know the true you since they see you all the time. This will lead to better work, I feel, since this schism would go away that you feel like you always have to have a mask on with as much as our work overtakes our lives. I say we flip it the other way around; bring your interests, passions, and transparent self into the work we do for students. It will be a refreshing change of pace.

I learn lessons and make connections from my geeky passions often, and I joke that I take my entertainment very seriously so I hope this was helpful to you all out there. So take this in, reflect, and go out being the most ultimate you that you were born to be!

As always, remember; With great power, comes great responsibility.