Never in my life as an upcoming nerd or geek would I have
imagined it being cool. Being a nerd and/or geek was shunned in my formative
years as a student in lower education institutions.
Talking about gaming, technology, intergalactic activity
and a desire to participate in aforementioned list made us an automatic target
for wedgies, revile conversation, smear campaigns, and, in extreme cases,
having to defend ourselves in courtyards after-school.
Being nerd also had its perks, especially in the realm of
academics, which is all that really was of consequence to us gain of
mega-brains.
We excelled at subjects that other found difficult to
wrap their diminutive brains around making us favorites of the Academia. We
were doted over by teachers, counselors and the school for raising their
national rankings on the catalog of premier schools. We were often sought out
by fellow classmate/schoolmates for help with homework or test tasking tips to
help the academically ailing cure their stupidity "disease".
But, the being a nerd has not stopped there. We are now
sought out on the Second Life platform by Geekspeak, created and owned by Erik
Goff. I could not manage an interview with Erik as the man is extremely mobile,
meaning busy. But, Kathen Othobide has graciously step in as a proxy for this
article to provide some insight for the weekly Saturday (This day was named
after Saturn, the Roman god of agriculture) meetings held at 12 PM SLT.
I originally held in my mind an image of a great
amphitheater-not really- where all intellects gathered to hold a forum, and I
was not completely off-kilter.
Geekspeak is a discussion forum, sans the amphitheater,
where mind stimulating conversation is fostered. Conversations on technology:
old, new, and future, are served hot and ready to digest. The most popular
conversation I have come to find is interstellar discussion threads. And,
looking at the current global situation-Pssst! The purported decay of the O-Zone
layer-I can see why asteroid mining and colonization of Mars are the hot
topics.
If galactic discussion is not your thing, fear not, there
are other conversation that are more "down to earth", so to speak.
There are ongoing conversation about the portended centralization of all
individual governmental entities into one global government and economy,
shattering international borders. And, according to Kathen, conversations about
the Bechdel test-a test used to measure a fiction literary work for conversations
had between two female characters that is external of the abject subject of
men.
And with there are discussions surrounding the ideation
of life lived in virtual worlds, plausibly eliminating human interactions.
Kathen has thoroughly sparked my interest. This
discussion forum sounds like my kind of Saturday afternoon spent well, once I
dial down on my social calendar.
The discussion forum could be the setting to bring up
Second Life discrepancies and concerns, as such conversation pertain to Geekspeak.
And before closing, beyond the discussion piece, Vulcan
Viper instructs classes as a joint effort with Geekspeak. For information, feel
free to drop him a note card.
Geekspeak and Edutopia:
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Danmu/167/130/50
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