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Somehow, that line just has a brilliant ring of truth to it: Once a hacker, always a hacker. And it's probably right. You can't go back to a life of normalcy af
by PieSquared 18y ago
Somehow, that line just has a brilliant ring of truth to it: Once a hacker, always a hacker. And it's probably right. You can't go back to a life of normalcy after experiencing the exhilaration of hacking away at something for hours on end and finally getting it. What you can do, though, is apply your mind to the social system - as you said, hack it.
A lot of nerds and geeks (the ones I know at least) are unpopular not because they're unpleasant people (they aren't), but because they don't understand how the social system works, what you're allowed to say and what you aren't (and when). If you just watch people talking around you you can easily notice what annoys people or causes them to end the conversation, and avoid doing it. If you just apply your mind to everyday life, being involved in your surrounding culture really isn't that hard.
- johnyzee 18y agoActually Paul Graham discussed this point in an interesting way: If geeks are so smart, why don't they just work the social system the way they would hack a computer program? I agree with his conclusion: Geeks care (desperately even) about being popular (or normal or whatever you want to call it), but they care more about other things. There are only 24 hours in a day. If you are way into tech stuff, math, physics etc. you can't at the same time spend all your time worrying about clothes and (rubbish) popular culture, socializing and leveling up in the social game. Well, that and the fact that the geek persona is naturally skilled in very litteral disciplines, whereas social interaction is much more about 'soft' skills like empathy and intuition.
- anc2020 18y agoAlso, if you add jokes in the right way, you can often turn your geekiness into a "cute" joke with girls with incredible ease. I've yet to achieve results, but I'll tell you about it if I do.