I think I feel sorry for producers who depend on consumers and yet have nothing but contempt for their consumers.

My solution is that my product and who I am are completely separate facets of my existence.

OT, ish. You’ve read the 5 Geek Social Fallacies, right?

1 - It *is* an artificial world where only geeky subjects matter. That doesn’t mean that many, even most, of the people you encountered don’t enjoy just as much balance in life outside those doors as you do. They may enjoy becoming JUST a geek for a weekend, but that’s not a statement against the balance of their lives.

2 - Some people have no balance, and of course they’re going to show up. Geeks have been fighting against the stereotype of obese men with no hygiene who live in their parents’ basements for along as “geek” as been a self-identifier. They’re there. We have to live with them. But they don’t characterize or personify what it is to have geeky hobbies.

3 - Many, many hobbies are all about consumerism. Geekiness is hardly special.

4 - Many people can be and are creative, but not everyone can create *games*. I write. I don’t create games. Sometimes I playtest them. When I play games or attend a convention, it is only as a consumer. I am happy being a creator in some realms and a consumer in others. It’s part of my balance.

OTOH, I don’t get being drooling fans of people. Actually, many sff and gaming geek cultures are LESS drooly in their fandom than other fandoms (e.g. soap operas). But it’s still drooly enough to creep me out. Not my thing. Hall costumes and convention sensuality, OTOH, I dig.

OTOH #2, I find that games are a fantastic way to connect in the “normal world.” As in, if I meet someone who happens to play games in my normal life or can seek them out, they have a great chance of becoming friends. This is not true in game conventions. I find I leave with the same friends/connections as I arrived with, unless one of those friends happens to know someone and introduce me. I’m not sure why this is, but it may be the lack of balance you’re talking about.

None of this means you have to like going to gaming conventions of course :-p.

At the end of the day, we are more than a singular identifier.

I guess that’s why they invented names… so we could just use that to explain who we are:)

Thanks for sharing… it has given me more to think about. And, I have to say, I feel a bit inspired by your words as well.

It is understandable that we feel a connection with those who share some of our traits, as “Birds of the same feather, flock together.” Yet, this may be a self-protection mechanism as our “eguals” are not going to fault our failings.

We also may want to examine the purpose of our creation: Are we creating for the world or for ourselves? Is the book that I am writing to boost my ego or is it to save humanity from some of the aches that afflicted me? In most cases, the answer is an ego trip. But, our arrogance tells us that the world needs another book.

The reality is that the world did not ask for another Picasso’s painting, Machiavelli’s Prince, or Einstein’s Theory of Relativity. As creators, we may feel that we belong to a special club and that the world is indebted to us. However, that is our arrogance talking. We are the ones indebted to society for choosing to examine our work.

Authenticity also plays a major role on the impact of reality on our lives. A blind person climbing Mount Everest has more impact on me than the best seller book of all time on mountain climbing. Thus, the messenger may be as important as the message and we should keep this in mind when creating for others.

It is not my intention to crush the initiative of young minds, such as yours, but to add to the menu of “taking stock” in your life, as the possibilities are limitless, if you set yourself free to do what you enjoy most doing, whether or not you are the best at doing it. The first test is for you to live life. The second is for people to judge.

Good job. I am proud of your self-evaluation and honesty in telling the world about it.

You are still a geek. You’ve just been exposed to the varying extremes of geekiness. Gluttony is bad any way you take it, not just food. There are some out there that just get way too much of one thing and don’t expose themselves to other aspects of life. I think you get a healthy dose without overdoing it.