Geek Wisdom: The Sacred Teachings of Nerd Culture (2011)

I'm not going to finish this. I'm not actually sure where I put it. I didn't particularly like or dislike it. It was enjoyable for a few minutes, but didn't have much substance. Segal's tone was a little wary, which I thought gave the book a tinge of defensiveness and a little too much detachment, but who can blame him? No geek wants to discuss Geekdom with normal people within earshot, not really. And if this book fails to give an accurate depiction of the sincere and deeply held ethical beliefs of geeks, well, that's not what this type of book is for. You wouldn't blame "365 Zen" for failing to provide a thorough introduction to Zen Buddhism, either. And maybe - maybe! - non geeks will pick this book up and learn a little something about the rest of us dwelling quietly in their midst. I think not, though. Probably geeks (and our cousins, the nerds) will buy this hoping to feel validated.

What I really wished I was reading was something that doesn't yet exist: a Geek Bible. I think people, if they were being fair, would find it hard to argue with the assertion that religious and moral systems are constantly adapting and evolving. Geekdom has always attracted the visionary, the over-educated, and the rebellious: the perfect combination for developing a new ethical system. Normal people, please: I am not talking about Dianetics here. I am talking about the collective wisdom and, yes, the spiritual beliefs of Geekdom. What if we had a Bible of our own? It would contain the optimistic belief in human wisdom that filled Star Trek, the Eastern-influenced spiritual ethos of Star Wars, the ecological awareness and self-control advocated by 'Dune'. What geek, in a time of crisis, hasn't found solace in the Bene Gesserit litany against fear?

Maybe this little book is a step in that direction. An actual collection of geek wisdom would, of course, be difficult to pull off. We'd have to appoint a Geek Council of Elders to select and compile the texts. Maybe a Geek Pope to oversee the project. There would be epic disagreements, accusations of heresy, persecution, schisms. But if something could be hammered together, it might become apparent that Geek Wisdom really does have something meaningful to offer our brave new world. ( )

This is a fun book pulling from references throughout media to bring explaanations to the Geek World. It is definitely designed to be flipped through, caught from time to time, but not read as a normal book might.

Each quote or phrase then offers a philisophical consideration. From my reading, I'd say these considerations are to ask the reader to dig deeper, to think about what's being said, rather than just place the plate in front of the reader. After all, this is Geek Wisdom, which suggests thinking. For something to stimulate philisophical thought processes, I can recommend this book. ( )

This is what I'd call a 'bathroom book' - little snippets meant to be read in tiny bits and pieces. It's meant to highlight moral truths that we learn from famous 'geek' sayings taken from fantasy and science fiction franchises. Each snippet is written by someone else - which means that they vary wildly in quality.

Most aren't really that interesting, let alone that profound. This was disappointing to me, as someone who's spent most my life steeped in 'geek' culture, because I've long believed that these modern fairy tales have a lot to say about morality and human nature. Most of the bits in here just aren't that deep. It's bad when the quote they're discussing carries more weight than the discussion itself. Many times the discussion is basically a rehashing of the quote itself, or the context, without any deeper digging.

"With great power comes great responsibility." You don't say? Huh. If only I could have read (or watched) a story that explores that more fully...

For a bathroom reader, or something similar, it's fine. It was free (ER book). It's cute and gimmicky and easy to skim. But I wouldn't go out of my way for this one. ( )

I am not quite sure what I was expecting with this book, but I know it wasn't what the book actually was. It was an extremely quick read, and very dependent on your geek pop culture knowledge (which I discovered was lacking). It was fluffy though, and a bit less philosophical and more quick musings on the potential deeper meaning of certain lines from what the authors considered cult classics of geek culture.

Cute enough but I always find these sort of books unsatisfying, when what I really wanted was less a walk down the aisle of a candy store and more Tao of Pooh introspection. I do have a list of new books and movies to check out though. ( )

A nicely put together collection of approximately 200 quotations from mid- to late 20th-century popular culture (science-fiction/fantasy books, film, television and video games), each accompanied by a short essay that illuminates the quotation’s philosophical (“sacred”) teaching, and some footnoted with a bit of playful trivia about the quotation’s source.

For example:
It’s people. Soylent green is made out of people. --Detective Thorn in the 1973 film Soylent Green
suggests that, whether it's a food supplement made from the recently dead or “children in sweatshops or migrants working under substandard conditions, the lifestyle of comfort that we likely take for granted has been built on a foundation of systemic dehumanization. It’s made out of people.”

Or:
Fantasy is the impossible made probable. Science fiction is the improbable made possible. --Rod Serling
discusses geeks’ interest in other worlds -- maybe to escape personal dissatisfaction or maybe to daydream an increase in human satisfaction.

A few of the quotes were totally new to me and quite a few of the sources were relatively unfamiliar, so I wanted more background and context. But the true-geek audience won’t need that and besides, it’s not the purpose of this collection -- the philosophy is. And here, the philosophy is individually encouraging and societally positive. ( )