How does a geek cope with non-geek friends?
I am a geek. I know and admit this about myself. It’s just a part of life.
I have non-geek friends. “Normals.” There’s nothing wrong with that. I like them for who they are, and hopefully they like me for the same reason.
However, there are funny barriers to communication.
For example, in an email last week about meeting up for brunch, I said “Pumpkin Pancakes FTW!” And then I had to make sure I explained what “FTW” means. (FTW = ‘for the win’ in case any non-geeks read this blog.) And it’s good that I did, for 2 of the 3 recipients thought I was saying something about Fort Worth.
If you are a geek, that was hilarious. You’re welcome. If you’re not, you just read that and thought, “huh, I thought it was about Fort Worth too” - and possibly “I still don’t understand; what does for the win mean? And what does it have to do with pancakes.” To you, I apologize.
See? Communication barriers.
Because I like my non-geek friends, I try to introduce them to new words and concepts sporadically so that they do not feel hopelessly analog in a digital world. Things like Rick-Rolling and memes. Things like bullet time. Things like FTW.
Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn’t. But it usually makes all of us laugh.
I shall kill blogspot for deleting my orginal post...
ReplyDeleteI feel tricked. I thought that this post was to be about pumpkin pancakes. Perhaps discussion of a delicious recipe or just generally bragging how you have them and we don't.
I'm rather blessed that all of my friends are at least ankle deep in the ocean of geekness. Rarely do I ever have to explain these things, usually just translate between groups (Star Wars fans to Trekkies for instance). Now their significant others... thats where I would run into these issues.
Sorry to disappoint! I like pumpkin pancakes at Cafe Brazil in north Texas. They are served October - December, and are made of yum. :)
ReplyDelete