Why I'm a Nerd

Why I Am a Nerd

A friend of mine asked me why The Avengers was such a big deal. He's not particularly a sci-fi fan (though he is quite knowledgeable about science) and didn't get the appeal for me.

I get the question. Non-nerds often look at nerds with puzzlement. Why would people find entertainment and even fulfillment from watching a movie or TV show with giant fictional reptiles, powered beings, or extraterrestrials with exaggerated dental problems? Doesn't it feel a little, um, juvenile?

Fair question. But like many things in life, different people like different things for different reasons.

An analogy.

There are some people that are sports fans. I don’t completely get it. Sure, watching a game or match can be fun, but it still breaks down to people hitting and ball with a stick then running to pillows before they get caught. Or hitting a tiny ball with a stick to get it into a hole in the ground. But by making it simple, you eliminate the nuance, the skill and, yes, the drama of the event. Sports fans are involved in ways I don't understand.

Most of life is mundane. For many of us, we want life to be, for lack of a better term, more magical. That there is something deeper in existence than meets the eye. There are few genuine magical moments in life and they are fleeting. So we look for the magical where we can find it. For some, it is sports. Or gaming. For others, religion or spirituality. Or even better living through chemistry.

For those of us who life doesn't present enough magical aspects to suit us, we turn to popular culture as one way of fulfilling this desire. We look to worlds with bigger than life heroes. Or aliens. Or ghosts. Or wizards. With them, we find the magic in a fictional life that real life doesn't provide enough of.

Science fiction can also stand up against other genres on its own. A piece of sci-fi or fantasy fiction can be as good a book, tv show or movie with the same humor, emotion, characters and a look at the human condition as “serious” drama. Science fiction and fantasy can be effective metaphors for what is happening in our culture or politics.

And then, for science fiction, there’s the science part.
The Martian, in my opinion, is science fiction at its best. A lot of that is because the science is so interesting. Jurassic Park, while stretching some of the science to make cloning possible (plus they got some of the dinosaurs wrong - don't get me started), it did incorporate elements of current genetic research.

The bottom line for me is - if you enjoy something, it moves you or excites you, and gives you a common topic to discuss with friends and even strangers, then go ahead and enjoy it. That others don't get it is just a difference in how people view the world and their place in it. And what they wish the world, or the universe for that matter, would actually be. Bigger than life. More magical.
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