+++
title = "Geek Wisdom: The Sacred Teachings of Nerd Culture -  Stephen H. Segal, N.K. Jemisin, Eric San Juan, Genevieve Valentine, Zaki Hasan"
date = 2020-03-10

[taxonomies]
tags = ["books", "reviews", "fun", "stephen h segal", "n k jemisin", 
"eric san juan", "genevieve valentine", "zaki hasan", "1 star", 
"books:2020"]
+++

[GoodReads Summary](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10418415-geek-wisdom):
Computer nerds are our titans of industry; comic-book superheroes are our
Hollywood idols; the Internet is our night on the town. Clearly, geeks know
something about life in the 21st century that other folks don’t—something we
all can learn from. Geek Wisdom takes as gospel some 200 of the most powerful
and oft-cited quotes from movies (“Where we’re going, we don’t need roads”),
television (“Now we know—and knowing is half the battle”), literature (“All
that is gold does not glitter”), games, science, the Internet, and more. Now
these beloved pearls of modern-day culture have been painstakingly interpreted
by a diverse team of hardcore nerds with their imaginations turned up to 11.
Yes, this collection of mini-essays is by, for, and about geeks—but it’s just
so surprisingly profound, the rest of us would have to be dorks not to read
it. So say we all.

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{{ stars(stars=1) }}

Although it is getting common in my reviews, I have to say this again: I have
no idea what's the target of this book.

Everything starts with a quote: A scientist, a meme, a movie quote, a game
character, take your "geek" pick". Then, it is followed by a commentary about
the quote. And, finally, some piece of trivia/explanation about the quote
itself.

The content of the book, then, is the commentary about the quotes.

And that's where my confusion comes.

Some explanations seem targeted to other geeks: "You see, So-And-So says this,
so we geek should be careful about that". Some others seem targeted to
non-geeks: "Geeks love So-And-So, because they said that and geeks related to
it". So, it's a book to geeks or to non-geeks?

No only that, but some explanations are really dense, like the author (one of
them) is trying to push a point in a short form and throwing jumping stones
really fast, to the point that when you reach the end of the paragraph, you
have no idea how it started.

And some are borderline insane: "Transformers! Transform and roll out!" is
related to Martin Luther King "Change does not roll in on the wheels of
inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle." And with that all I can
think is "Really? Like, really really?!?"

In the end, it is just a book about geeky quotes and a lot of filler.