2.6 KiB
+++ 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", "2020 challenge"] +++
GoodReads Summary: 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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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.