There is a difference between a Nerd and a Geek, Penn.
A Geek is someone who goes to watch Star-Wars at a reasonable hour, and gets a nice seat if available and goes home later on.
A Nerd is someone who dresses up as Darth-Vader, goes to the Midnight Screening, takes the most horrible seats regardless of availability, watches it 3 times in a row, goes home, and complains about it on the internet till the early hour of the mornings and cares who shot first in the grand scheme of things.
So yeah, I wouldn't exactly pride myself being called a Nerd.
There is a difference between a Nerd and a Geek, Penn.
A Geek is someone who goes to watch Star-Wars at a reasonable hour, and gets a nice seat if available and goes home later on.
A Nerd is someone who dresses up as Darth-Vader, goes to the Midnight Screening, takes the most horrible seats regardless of availability, watches it 3 times in a row, goes home, and complains about it on the internet till the early hour of the mornings and cares who shot first in the grand scheme of things.
So yeah, I wouldn't exactly pride myself being called a Nerd.
I always made the distinction that nerds were just smarter variations of geeks, but I like your analogy better.
There is a difference between a Nerd and a Geek, Penn.
A Geek is someone who goes to watch Star-Wars at a reasonable hour, and gets a nice seat if available and goes home later on.
A Nerd is someone who dresses up as Darth-Vader, goes to the Midnight Screening, takes the most horrible seats regardless of availability, watches it 3 times in a row, goes home, and complains about it on the internet till the early hour of the mornings and cares who shot first in the grand scheme of things.
So yeah, I wouldn't exactly pride myself being called a Nerd.
Nerd and geek are basically meaningless and largely interchangeable words at this point. I used to feel the exact same way before I realized that nobody beyond myself and a bunch of neck bearded whiners were the only ones who cared about the distinction and pretty much everybody else just used the words to mean "Socially awkward people who play video games and don't go outside enough."
They're both terms that have completely lost any distinct meaning in all but the most technical of discussions (a geek was someone who bit heads off live chickens in sideshows, for example).
So, basically, stop being butthurt and actually use your eyes and brain so you can read what the guy said instead of latching onto a meaningless term that offends you for no reason.
Nerd and geek are basically meaningless and largely interchangeable words at this point. I used to feel the exact same way before I realized that nobody beyond myself and a bunch of neck bearded whiners were the only ones who cared about the distinction and pretty much everybody else just used the words to mean "Socially awkward people who play video games and don't go outside enough."
They're both terms that have completely lost any distinct meaning in all but the most technical of discussions (a geek was someone who bit heads off live chickens in sideshows, for example).
So, basically, stop being butthurt and actually use your eyes and brain so you can read what the guy said instead of latching onto a meaningless term that offends you for no reason.
although i agree with you to apoint... people give words meaning and if a word means something to you...you cant be incorrect...you be against the grain language changes like a flock of starlings in flight.
When it comes to videogames, who gives a shit what Penn has to say? Yes, he's saying a positive message for us but if it were a negative one, the reply would be 'Its Penn, who gives a shit?'
The gaming community is an odd bunch. Fuck you if you're against us, yay if you're for us, regardless of your credentials.
Penn is a pretty interesting individual and he's great to listen to regarding social and cultural topics. It's not so much that I'm interested about his opinion, it's how he presents the situation. He's also a comedian in a sense, so it's always fun to hear from comics. It's the same thing with Joe Rogan.
When it comes to videogames, who gives a shit what Penn has to say? Yes, he's saying a positive message for us but if it were a negative one, the reply would be 'Its Penn, who gives a shit?'
The gaming community is an odd bunch. Fuck you if you're against us, yay if you're for us, regardless of your credentials.
Ad Hominem goes both ways. Doesn't matter if someone's for or against, their argument should be judged based on its merits, not the person's. IMO, we just generally shouldn't disregard anyone's point just because they don't live up to some arbitrary standard of credentials.
In other words - I give a shit what Penn says, and agree with it in this case. Just like I give a shit what others says, even when I disagree with them.
Geek: a carnival performer who performs sensationally morbid or disgusting acts, as biting off the head of a live chicken.
Nerd: an intelligent but single-minded person obsessed with a nonsocial hobby or pursuit: a computer nerd.
So it seems like nerd fits the best? But I agree with Penn's main point, practice and obsession can get you pretty far. It can also get you a restraining order and a bunk on death row... so yea not always a positive thing.
wise words. too many people nowadays don't dare to say "I don't know" and shut up and instead blart out whatever uninformed opinion they have because you know, you gotta have an opinion nowadays.
Ad Hominem goes both ways. Doesn't matter if someone's for or against, their argument should be judged based on its merits, not the person's. IMO, we just generally shouldn't disregard anyone's point just because they don't live up to some arbitrary standard of credentials.
In other words - I give a shit what Penn says, and agree with it in this case. Just like I give a shit what others says, even when I disagree with them.
There's a huge difference between opinion and informed opinion. One is easily entertained while the other can be heavily considered. So while I can appreciate the opinion, in the grand scheme of things - for me personally - his really doesn't matter.
2 cents.
EDIT: I should also note that I don't disagree with what he's saying. It would just weigh heavily with me.
There's a huge difference between opinion and informed opinion. One is easily entertained while the other can be heavily considered. So while I can appreciate the opinion, in the grand scheme of things - for me personally - his really doesn't matter.
2 cents.
EDIT: I should also note that I don't disagree with what he's saying. It would just weigh heavily with me.
I understand that, my point is that arbitrarily assigning credentials to a person and placing those credentials before the argument is ad hominem. It's putting the emphasis on the person, not the argument. It's also not useful. There are many examples of people who don't have traditional "credentials", but are well informed and make well thought out arguments. There are also a lot of examples of "experts" who can't form a proper argument on a subject at all. So credentials are more or less meaningless. What isn't meaningless is the content of someone's argument.
To discount someones argument just because they don't work in the industry is pretty well pointless. You aren't limiting yourself to only well informed arguments that way, but you are excluding many well thought out arguments from outside of the space.
tl;dr: "Credentials" are meaningless and arbitrary, it's the content of an argument that matters, and how well or misinformed the argument is. It only hurts the dialogue to discount certain opinions based on perceived credentials.
Replies
I like the grateful dead
perhaps he hasn't listened to them enough to get them.
he's pretty spot on.
Though it did take me like a minute of "Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll" to interest me enough to eventually get hooked on Dylan for life.
Just pimping Bob Dylan here:) Just in case;)
A Geek is someone who goes to watch Star-Wars at a reasonable hour, and gets a nice seat if available and goes home later on.
A Nerd is someone who dresses up as Darth-Vader, goes to the Midnight Screening, takes the most horrible seats regardless of availability, watches it 3 times in a row, goes home, and complains about it on the internet till the early hour of the mornings and cares who shot first in the grand scheme of things.
So yeah, I wouldn't exactly pride myself being called a Nerd.
I always made the distinction that nerds were just smarter variations of geeks, but I like your analogy better.
Nerd and geek are basically meaningless and largely interchangeable words at this point. I used to feel the exact same way before I realized that nobody beyond myself and a bunch of neck bearded whiners were the only ones who cared about the distinction and pretty much everybody else just used the words to mean "Socially awkward people who play video games and don't go outside enough."
They're both terms that have completely lost any distinct meaning in all but the most technical of discussions (a geek was someone who bit heads off live chickens in sideshows, for example).
So, basically, stop being butthurt and actually use your eyes and brain so you can read what the guy said instead of latching onto a meaningless term that offends you for no reason.
although i agree with you to apoint... people give words meaning and if a word means something to you...you cant be incorrect...you be against the grain language changes like a flock of starlings in flight.
He doesnt. Considering he's a professional at the top of the world as a juggler and a magician, i think its implied that the time was well spent.
Juggling, for us, of course, is art!
The gaming community is an odd bunch. Fuck you if you're against us, yay if you're for us, regardless of your credentials.
Ad Hominem goes both ways. Doesn't matter if someone's for or against, their argument should be judged based on its merits, not the person's. IMO, we just generally shouldn't disregard anyone's point just because they don't live up to some arbitrary standard of credentials.
In other words - I give a shit what Penn says, and agree with it in this case. Just like I give a shit what others says, even when I disagree with them.
Nerd: an intelligent but single-minded person obsessed with a nonsocial hobby or pursuit: a computer nerd.
So it seems like nerd fits the best? But I agree with Penn's main point, practice and obsession can get you pretty far. It can also get you a restraining order and a bunk on death row... so yea not always a positive thing.
I have no idea where this is going but here we go:
http://vimeo.com/15432053
There's a huge difference between opinion and informed opinion. One is easily entertained while the other can be heavily considered. So while I can appreciate the opinion, in the grand scheme of things - for me personally - his really doesn't matter.
2 cents.
EDIT: I should also note that I don't disagree with what he's saying. It would just weigh heavily with me.
I understand that, my point is that arbitrarily assigning credentials to a person and placing those credentials before the argument is ad hominem. It's putting the emphasis on the person, not the argument. It's also not useful. There are many examples of people who don't have traditional "credentials", but are well informed and make well thought out arguments. There are also a lot of examples of "experts" who can't form a proper argument on a subject at all. So credentials are more or less meaningless. What isn't meaningless is the content of someone's argument.
To discount someones argument just because they don't work in the industry is pretty well pointless. You aren't limiting yourself to only well informed arguments that way, but you are excluding many well thought out arguments from outside of the space.
tl;dr: "Credentials" are meaningless and arbitrary, it's the content of an argument that matters, and how well or misinformed the argument is. It only hurts the dialogue to discount certain opinions based on perceived credentials.