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A friend recently pointed out that fandoms are like a fractal, and as you zoom in it becomes increasingly hardcore and dedicated. The next layer on your list i

A friend recently pointed out that fandoms are like a fractal, and as you zoom in it becomes increasingly hardcore and dedicated. The next layer on your list is probably the stamp collector that only loves a certain kind of stamp with some obscure feature and will talk your ear off about it. Probably something like how only the stamps made in a specific year by one company are any good because they use a highly specialized glue which really makes it the pinnacle of stamp technology. A real "they just don't make em like they used to". People become obsessed with things to such an extreme degree that they end up drowning out anyone without an equivalent level of dedication. It becomes a problem when people chose to play status games instead of just enjoying their hobby.

dehrmann 6y ago
> A friend recently pointed out that fandoms are like a fractal, and as you zoom in it becomes increasingly hardcore and dedicated. Almost everything is like that. Turtles...
nicbou 6y ago
I noticed this with history. You can go from general history to people who can tell you where a WW2 jeep engine was built based on its serial number. I also found that unlike with most hobbies, I find history talk much more civilised all around. People are eager to share, and generally willing to accept well-sourced disagreement.
HWR_14 6y ago
>People become obsessed with things to such an extreme degree that they end up drowning out anyone without an equivalent level of dedication. It becomes a problem when people chose to play status games instead of just enjoying their hobby. It's true in academia and in technical fields as well. As you become an expert, details most people skip over become very important parts of your day. The real difference is between people who disdain you for not knowing as much as they do about some issue, those who enthusiastically try to educate you, and those who recognize not everyone cares about it as much as they do and tries to speak to whatever level you are at (or slightly above it if you've expressed a desire to go deeper.)
ReactiveJelly 6y ago
https://xkcd.com/1095/ https://xkcd.com/1095/ "Human subcultures are nested fractally. There's no bottom."

dehrmann 6y ago

> A friend recently pointed out that fandoms are like a fractal, and as you zoom in it becomes increasingly hardcore and dedicated. Almost everything is like that. Turtles...

nicbou 6y ago

I noticed this with history. You can go from general history to people who can tell you where a WW2 jeep engine was built based on its serial number. I also found that unlike with most hobbies, I find history talk much more civilised all around. People are eager to share, and generally willing to accept well-sourced disagreement.

HWR_14 6y ago

>People become obsessed with things to such an extreme degree that they end up drowning out anyone without an equivalent level of dedication. It becomes a problem when people chose to play status games instead of just enjoying their hobby. It's true in academia and in technical fields as well. As you become an expert, details most people skip over become very important parts of your day. The real difference is between people who disdain you for not knowing as much as they do about some issue, those who enthusiastically try to educate you, and those who recognize not everyone cares about it as much as they do and tries to speak to whatever level you are at (or slightly above it if you've expressed a desire to go deeper.)

ReactiveJelly 6y ago

https://xkcd.com/1095/ https://xkcd.com/1095/ "Human subcultures are nested fractally. There's no bottom."