Philosopher Geek

As a philosopher geek it would behoove me to get my terms correct. Like many people I often use the terms “Geek,” “Nerd,” and “Dork” interchangeably. This is not strictly correct as each word has a specific, although somewhat similar, meaning. So in my geeky, or is that nerdish, way I will explain each of the words for you. [... more]

If you have spent much time on the blogosphere you will likely have come across the phrase SWPL (say it as “swipple”). This is an initialism meaning Stuff White People Like. That phrase comes from the satirical blog StuffWhitePeopleLike.com.

Ostensibly the aim of StuffWhitePeopleLike is to inform a non-White person how to ingratiate themselves with the white majority. Of course this is not what it is really about. The blog brilliantly satirizes a certain segment of the population. It is the same small part of the population that David Brooks would call BoBos and some refer to as whiterpeople. This, almost entirely white, group define themselves more by attitudes than possessions. And of course those attitudes have to be “correct.” [... more]

A frequent complaint from women is that there are no screen roles for the older lady. There might be an element of truth to that if you neglect actresses like Helen Mirren, Meryl Streep, and Judi Dench (who, at 74, goes to-to-toe with James Bond). Another neglected demographic is geeks. Pretty much any man in a geeky role is played for laughs. If he is an accountant he will be played as meek and simpering. If he is a computer or engineering type he will be played as a misfit who is socially incompetent. You can be fairly sure the role will not be heroic.

Far worse, from a nerd hero perspective, you would imagine are romance novels. You know those books whose cover features longhaired beauties falling into the arms of buff heroes. If cinema will not feature geeky heroes what hope is there for romance novels?

Imagine my surprise when I discovered that not only is there a romance novel with a nerd hero but an entire series. Yes, an entire series. [... more]

Here is a stereotype for you: A guy with a blog is a geek while a girl with a blog is cool. As often happens, the stereotype has some truth. Don’t you hate it when that happens? [... more]

Merriam Webster describes character as Sense 6: moral excellence and firmness [a man of sound character] I would describe it with the old adage: “Doing the right thing when nobody is looking.”

We live in a world that is ever more electronically connected yet personally disconnected. A world where we make deals over the telephone or by e-mail. A world where we may be no more than a price on a screen. A world where people increasingly come together for a single project and then disband to the far corners of the earth.

In such a world does that thing called character still count?  [... more]