The Astereotypical Nerd

A place to express my loud mind.

[astereotypicalnerd]

The conservative scars

Why is the world becoming liberal all of a sudden? A fine topic for discussion with a friend on a long bus ride home. Exhaustion from walking all day and a trip of over five hours tends to ignite complicated conversations. It’s puzzling how it’s never the rested state of mind delving into important issues, but that’s a topic for another day.

Some people say that traveling and experiencing other cultures broadens your worldview, and as transport means became more affordable, traveling shifted the conservative eco-system. However, most people don’t travel very often and I’ve met people who still hold on firm to their bigoted views and beliefs regardless of their mileage. My immediate response was that instead, the Internet was culpable. It had to be right? 

It makes more sense to me. The recent advancement in communication is essential for connecting the world and concocting a cocktail of different tastes, views and beliefs that should once and for all cure us of the prejudice we succumb to daily. The Internet also offers the guise of presumed anonymity, so you can’t really judge someone’s opinion based on their race or sexual preference. Yes, the Internet felt like the clear reason. But was it though?

What if, what made reason and tolerance permeate through the stubborn and locked up mind of a conservative person might not be the intensity of the ray, but disappearance of the clouds dimming its effect?

There’s one more crucial event in recent years that might have impacted people’s minds more than we give it credit for - the end of the Cold War. As you’re reading this, you might be thinking there was also substance abuse added together with exhaustion and boredom to the formula that led me and my friend to this conversation, but bare with me. The end of the Cold War is in a way the “end” of war. With the end of the Cold War, the World finally entered in a state of “peace”. There no longer was any large scale war involving most of the civilized World. Interestingly enough, most countries that have been shaken by war in the past few decades are the ones still conservative in nature. And if you think about it, it makes perfect sense. War brings change, whether that means territorial or constitutional. Thus, at least one side in the war is fighting this change. In order for them to persevere, they must stick to what unifies them and, thus, fuel and protect their nationality and beliefs to an extent that they oppose all progressive thought that might break the status quo and shake up their convictions. And this is ok, since it is crucial for winning a war. United we stand, divided we fall.

The problem is that when the war ends, the conservative shroud remains. The fear of what is new lingers in the people and even gets passed on through generations. Hence, any outside influence is met with criticism or even hatred.  As long as we don’t open new wounds, all the scars that are left will be healed as we can clearly see with the recent rise of progressive thoughts. I can’t wait for the unified Earth of Star Trek to become a reality. I mean we already have the tablets right? We’re on a good path.

[astereotypicalnerd]

Don't forget to regret

"Never regret. If it's good, it's wonderful. If it's bad, it's experience." ~ Victoria Holt

This is an awful quote. The idea behind it is fairly good. Dwelling on the past as opposed to accepting what has happened to you and moving on is not just worse, it's detrimental. If you pluck your hair long enough over something bad that has happened, you will be left hairless(figuratively at least). Instead you should comb that messy flock and take all your confidence and remaining strength ahead. But should you regret what you've done? Yes. Yes you should.

This quote, at least in the way the average person understands it, relieves you from the responsibility of making bad decisions. The whole point of regret and a restless conscience is to not fuck up again. If I ever were to, let's say, get super drunk and decide I'm still fit to drive and run over an innocent person on the road, should I not regret it? Of course I should. I should not be relieved from the responsibility of taking someone's life on the grounds of: "Hey, at least now I know I shouldn't drink and drive. Go life experience!!!".

Now that was a pretty harsh example, but I think you clearly see my take on the subject. The whole point of life is to not get into troublesome situations in the first place, not to get the best of out of a bad decision. You might've gone through a bad relationship and look at it as experience and that's okay. But wouldn't you rather have had a good one? You might have gambled all your life savings away and now you feel like a bigger person because you realize what kind of a mistake you've made and you would never stoop so low again. But wouldn't you rather have that money right now and not be an idiot in the first place?

There are situations where I would agree that fucking up might be good for you. Sometimes, people have an inaccurate perception of what is good. And no matter how much you tell them that they shouldn't play with fire, they won't realize it until they get burned. I've done stupid things in my life and look at them as experience and try not to lock myself in the endless maze of what would have happened if I acted differently. But I still regret them. And because I do, their significance is greater.

Maybe I went a little harsh when I said the quote was awful, especially since the author probably never meant for people to interpret it this way. But I've seen it circle around on Facebook and people usually have the attitude: "I don't regret anything. Every decision I've made was a good one.". And this attitude needs a reality check. Good decisions can't lead you to bad experiences.

[astereotypicalnerd]

Breaking ideals

"Don't go following causes. They'll just break your heart. When idealism meets reality, it's rarely reality that backs down."

Even though I almost religiously defend computer games from public criticism concerning their cultural value, I have to admit that I find it incredible that a quote as powerful as the one cited above has originated from one. The third sentence is one of my all time favourite lines, whereas the first two add a tragic touch to it, enhancing the potency of its message. No ideal, no matter how amazing, can evade the rigorous constraints of reality. 

Think about communism. The most basic idea behind it is to have every one put in as much as effort as possible into society and in turn receive an equal share of any food, wealth or resources we acquire as a whole. Sounds great right? If we all pitch in diligently, there's no problem society can't overcome! But not every person is the same. In every profession there are people who are able to perform better than others and this leads to inequality in work done, hence, since every one will receive an equal reward at the end of their work, nobody feels obligated to do their best. Why would I lay 1000 bricks today, if Johnny gets paid the same for laying 700(even though that might be his physical limit)? Give me an extra steak for every 100 extra bricks I lay that day and I'll lay 1000. And that's how reality crushed this ideal and capitalism took over the world.

Let's look into a more personal topic. Every one just loves saying that looks are unimportant and that it only matter how people are on the inside. First of all, being beautiful is the same as being really intelligent. It's something you inherit and not something you earn, so quit yapping that life isn't fair because every one values beauty. When I got to college I realized that once high school is over, being naturally smart is worth a lot more. Being sincere and genuinely a good person is what should be considered as a great 'inside' quality. But this ideal, for people to value the beauty of character rather than bodily traits(including intelligence), is again constricted by reality. The human species has evolved in a way to innately be attracted to a partner that will secure the survival of their offspring. And this is why as immaterialistic as we may believe we are, we will still be attracted to beauty as a synonym for healthiness, strength and intelligence as a display of one's ability to provide and wealth as a sign of financial security. Thus once again, reality has crushed idealism.

So does this mean we should drop all ideals and embrace the cruel reality we live in? Of course not. Idealism leads to progress and progress can overturn reality. However, if you don't have strong foundations for your ideals, it's pointless to follow them. Communism will work some day, a day when humanity develops a stronger sense of global consciousness. Until then, we can only work on its building stones. 

[astereotypicalnerd]

Intoxication is a boring topic

There. I did it again. Apparently I love oxymorons. I use intoxication as the topic and yet, I state how boring it is in the very title of this post. Do I want to bore you? Hell no. I am trying to entertain my readers and hopefully familiarise them with my unique perspective on things. Anyway, I do not plan to talk about intoxication itself, but about the insatiable need of people to talk about it. Just like a software design pattern, every story is different, but you always feel like you've heard it before.

The funny thing about it is, I subconsciously do it myself. Being a European student, I've had almost unobstructed access to alcohol within the past few years. Seeing as I don't drink much, I don't really have that many stories connected with doing stupid things under influence, but I have a few good ones that I've shared with many people. As a member of a student organisation, I asked a friend, one with far greater experience within such an organisation, if he'd like to come to a party we were hosting. I told him we'd be having about 80 foreigners there and he'd have a great opportunity to converse with some interesting people. You know what he said? 'Why would I? It's always the same conversations. That time they got drunk drinking that special brand. Always.' And he was right. People do talk about these things a lot. But there has to be more than that.

And there is! The world is too beautiful to be constantly talking about substances that have psychological effects on the brain. But whenever I meet new students through the amazing traveling opportunities provided by student organisations, I end up talking most of the time about alcohol food and weather. I had the opportunity to meet a really smart Hungarian girl and the only conversation that's unrelated to these bullshit topics, was a bit of my city's history. The girl got enrolled at Harvard for her graduate studies and instead of hearing her view on amazing topics where I'd like to hear input from a well educated person, we used the same heavily recycled topics. 

I get why people do it. They feel comfortable. It's something universal and every one can relate to it. But do they really have to take so much pride into it? The student organisations that I've been a member of generally consist of engineers. Can't we make our introductions related to our fields of study and discuss that? Because I'd really like to hear about an awesome scientific event they've held this year, or some really cool story a professor told them. Because hearing that *insert alcohol type here* is really strong and they got really smashed from it, is getting ridiculous. Or asking someone if it's cold in Sweden or if they make good pizza in Italy. So I have a message for all young people in their early 20ties. I know you like to talk about that time you *insert crazy event here*. Heck, I myself love to tell the story of how I ate a space cake in Amsterdam and almost missed my flight. But next time you meet new awesome people, try to use the limited time you have with them to hear something new. There's 4chan for crazy drunk stories(among other things...) and Wikipedia for information about the place you visited. People's view of the world isn't so readily available. Youtube comments don't count. That's just toxic.

[astereotypicalnerd]

The Same Hope

Why does the world go round? Literally speaking, it's probably due to inertia. Figuratively though, some might say money makes the world go round, others love. But it's neither. It's hope. Hope makes the world go round.

It's what makes you get up in the morning, what helps you get through school or work, what lets you sleep at night. Every single thing a person does, is because they hope it will lead to something better. People spend time in the gym and avoiding scrumptious unhealthy food, hoping to get a better physique. They brush their teeth, hoping to still have all of them by the time they're 50. They make romantic gestures, hoping to earn the affection of that one special person. But hope goes even further.

Hope is what keeps people fighting. When Nazi Germany invaded almost all of Europe, people didn't lose hope. They fought the oppressor and got through the war. If they thought they stood no chance or that winning the war wouldn't lead to a better life would they fight? I don't think so. 

As divine as this feeling is, hope can also have detrimental effects. There's nothing worse for the wellbeing of a human mind than the existence of false hope. People will chase unrealistic goals, centring their life around something that will never happen. They will stay in broken and  abusive(sometimes even physically) relationships hoping that their partner will finally change. They will spend their whole life savings on bets, hoping to get rich and famous. And no matter how hard they fall, the all so powerful (false)hope will pick them right back up and push them head first into the field again. 

Hope is of absolute necessity for the progress of human kind. It's what provides the means to climb up the steep hills laid out for us by life. But not without reason. Hope is what makes the world go round, but reason keeps it spinning in the right direction. If that steep hill has a 90 degree slope, you probably wanna try a different path to the top.

[astereotypicalnerd]

A disease called apathy

I'm gonna start of today by sharing one clever joke I've heard. "What's the difference between ignorance and apathy?" - "I don't know and I don't care." This is a plain and simple way to use wordplay to explain these two terms and it provides a nice distinction. However, for me, the difference takes notable effect when confronted with a serious issue. In the first case, the party doesn't act accordingly due to the mere fact of being uninformed about the situation, where as in the latter, they just don't care.

"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." - Edmund Burke This very quote has motivated me to take action in certain situations(a number far smaller than I would've liked to anyway). I believe that it is a person's social responsibility to fight against injustice if they're aware of it, because that moment you let evil slip through because you can't be arsed to deal with it, is the very moment most of the world's problems are born. 

People tend to believe that not committing crime is enough to make the world a better place, but it isn't. Just because a person is a law abiding citizen, doesn't make every one else puke rainbows. When you see crime and/or abuse happening, you report it. End of story. However, this can be a tricky subject since many people are afraid of the culprit, thinking that selling them out may lead to personal attacks. Nevertheless, any action is better than no action.

There's a far more interesting topic in question though. Voting. Gush, it makes me cringe every time I hear a person say something among the lines of "Why should I vote? I don't care about politics.". You care enough to read your weekly horoscope or for the place of your favorite sports team on the leaderboard, but you don't care who runs your country? Please. Refusing to participate in elections is childish. Literally childish, since children are not allowed to vote.

You see the problem with this mindset is that whether you drop the ballot into the box or not, you're still casting your vote, you're just too stupid to realize it. And I'm not supporting any conspiracy theories that suggest that if you don't show up they might vote in your name. No. I'm talking about failing to vote against the leading party. You see, at least where I come from, people tend to be separated in two big groups. Basically, what it comes down to, is people being politically ignorant and voting for the same side over and over again, because of their family, tradition or whatnot. They seem to be content with every decision their party of choice makes and refuse to accept that they've made mistakes. Like fanboys that suggest all of Linkin Park's songs are awesome. No you shithead! They're not. Now, if one party accumulates significantly more fanboys than the other one, once they have the power, there's no way the opposing party can win, giving the leading one an almost totalitarian rule of the country. Well, not unless those 35% of independent citizens decided to step in. But not caring is cool, so whatever. I'm just gonna let my country spend my money(YES MY MONEY) on shitty statues and feel good songs.

It's funny how they sometimes try to argue in favor of their apathy by stating that all politicians are the same and therefore it's unimportant who's in charge. But this can in fact be a product of ignorance, because they might be too stupid to realize that voting for the opposing party doesn't necessarily mean you're one of them. It just means that you don't like the current state of the country and you're voting for change. If your shoes give you blisters, do you get new ones? Well if your answer to this question is 'no' you deserve to be punched in the face every time you mention the fact that your feet hurt. If you don't vote or if you vote for the running party, it means you are happy with the way things are and have absolutely no right whatsoever to complain about it.

Whether you like it or not, doing nothing doesn't make you an honorable person. You might wanna watch Kick-Ass. It is just a satire and there's no way people can amass themselves in superhero armies that fight wrongdoers, but the whole point of standing up and taking action is worth thinking about. Especially when it comes to things like voting which is harmless and anonymous. And this might be a little cliche, but if you're thinking that one vote won't change much, just imagine what would happen if every one else who thinks their vote is irrelevant, decided to take part if you did. Will it still remain irrelevant?

[astereotypicalnerd]

Science and pop culture should be separated

Ever since I was about 13, I've been fond of science. I don't think I really loved it that much. I believe that the only reason I oriented my interests toward Physics and Chemistry as a teenager was due to the fact that I was good at math. Being good at math made learning these subjects easier and being good at something that other kids detest made me feel special. I guess it was always a way for me to stand out from the crowd since I was never great at sports and/or music. So I know why I like science, but lately it seems every one fucking loves it.

If you didn't figure it out already, I was referring to those popular facebook pages that post random pop culture bullshit and label it as science. They post things from Star Wars, jokes that have random scientific terms(because adding words like neutrino and string theory to your posts make them scientific), feminism posts and facts that are simply wrong, like the number of planets in the Solar system. They are eight. Not nine, not ten, not sixteen. Eight.

Sure, they post relevant things every once in a while, but they don't get nearly as much attention as this for example:

This isn't science. This is science fiction. And it's science fiction not because it has a drawing of a character from the Star Wars saga, but because the volume of a hemisphere is not 4 dimensional. The volume of a hemisphere is V = 2/3 * r^3 * π. 

"But it's just a joke!" - someone might say. Yeah it looks pretty harmless, but it's not. First of all, a page that's related to science should consist of scientific findings and news with an occasional joke here and there and not the other way around. What's even more important, if you actually read the comments on the post, you'd find that half of the people don't even realize it's wrong. And these people fucking love science. So I, someone who studies engineering, someone who has participated in Physics competitions, someone that breaks down every fact until I'm certain it's scientifically correct before I state it as an opinion feel reluctant to say I love science, because I have no interest to practice it like some people, while your average Joe or geek wannabe that believes the volume of a hemisphere is somehow four dimensional, fucking loves it? Really?

Guess I'm not that special. It appears every one fucking loves science. Maybe they all had ADD and couldn't pay attention when the teachers explained it to them. Hopefully, facebook will educate them in the topics they've missed, like volume. Lucky them!

Sarcasm aside. This is why science and pop culture should be separated. Their entanglement won't bring to the popularization of science, but rather destroy the number one principle of it. Accuracy.

[astereotypicalnerd]

Ambition trumps everything

As depicted in many fictional stories, the lust for power and dominance can be scarier than bloodlust. Everything needed to stop a bloodthirsty enraged murderer is a gun bigger than his, unless he has supernatural powers. But to stop a dastardly mind from corrupting and ultimately destroying society or parts of society is far more difficult. Especially when they might be doing nothing wrong according to the rules. And this kind of behavior is not limited to fiction. It's everywhere around us.

I'm not going to dwell into the problem of spotting and dealing with this menace. At the moment I'm more interested in the cause of it. How do people suddenly start acting this way? Or has that urge to be in control always been there hiding, waiting, gasping for that familiar scent of supremacy to stimulate their senses.Either way, I've seen it happen to mere acquaintances and close friends alike.

Its destructive properties can tear through friendship and kindness faster than the primal instinct of survival. Honestly, I think that it would take more time and indecisiveness for a person to kill when it comes to survival, rather than being on top. And this natural, but at the same time inhumane trait is why governments are corrupted, companies wage commercial wars and non-profit organizations fail to uphold the most critical ideas that lie in their foundation.

But why? Where is the pleasure in sacrificing true friendship for a step up on society's success scale? Is stabbing someone in the back or eliminating conflict through evasion and puppeteering really worth it? Is this what matters in the end? Or is it just another form of deviant behavior that society fails to deal with properly?

I've always believed that people live on after death through the influence they spread during their limited time on Earth. Be that as it may, I'd rather be an unheard voice resonating hopelessly through time and space, than to have to watch the grounds of what I've tried so long to protect and build shatter as my success bursts through vigorously. 

Worst part of it all, people tend to buy into the crap these people sell. Manipulated through shiny things and big numbers they remain indifferent to the problem. But covering up cracks with paint won't make the walls stay up longer. They'll just mislead every one from the issue until the ceiling comes crushing down.

[astereotypicalnerd]

Love your metabolism!

Everyone has that one friend that can eat as much as he/she wants and not gain a gram of excess weight. They go number 2, three to four times a day, or to put it bluntly "they shit all day long" as if nothing sticks with them. They have a so called ectomorph body composition. If you don't know what an ectomorph is, google it up. You might find this classification of body types interesting and useful.

Back on topic. Don't you just hate that friend? Coming from a guy that has to workout regularly and eat as clean as possible to stay in somewhat OK shape(not shredded, oh heavens no), I can honestly say that I've cursed my parents loads of times for stucking me with this slow, fat producing, rusty bodily engine. Oh just how I've wished I could just crush a family size pizza with 5+ different fattening toppings without a slightest worry on my mind. But every time I decide to indulge myself in the guilty pleasure of unhealthy food, I am reminded that it will take days of cutting and cardio to make up for it, because that's just how my body works.

I used to think that once you got slimmer, you wouldn't gain weight back as fast, but I realized that without exercise and steering clear of junk food you'll just start packing again. I had a knee injury that made me unable to work out and during a course of 3-4 months I had a nice reinforced belt of fat accumulate around my abdominal area. But just how bad is this?

Living in the 21st century in a somewhat developed part of the world it's pretty bad. People, especially young people, value appearance over many things, and a slim body outweighs a fat one. But what if I told you that a slow metabolism is actually genetically superior?

Humans, just like every other creatures on this planet, have a sole purpose - to exist. The only purpose of reproduction is to make sure our planet remains inhabited by our kin and that our genes are translated across millennia. And a slow metabolism ensures exactly that. You might argue that in today's society, one favorable of slim and attractive people, a fast metabolism would provide more acceptance from the opposite sex and result in a more secure conception of offspring and this is true to a certain extent.

But imagine a natural disaster that would leave the planet with little to no resources. If your metabolism burns through food and reserves at the pace like that guy that eats full fat mayonnaise three times a day with no repercussion, you'd die of starvation. You might be angry that all those simple carbs transform into fat so easily, but you'll be glad you have it if the time calls for desperate measures. Also, I found a study suggesting that a high metabolic rate results in shorter lifespan of cells and thus, speeding up our aging process. I don't know if this is true or not, because I'm not qualified in the area, nor I know how to tell if a source is reliable, but the facts are out there somewhere.

Finally, all that hard work is worth it. You should be thanking society that has made you want to be slim and look healthy. The fact that you've had to sacrifice the short term enjoyment of scrumptious junk food has actually done more good for you than bad. Sure ectomorphs might not look unhealthy, but I highly doubt that all that terrible food has absolutely no detrimental effect on their well being. And metabolisms slow down sooner or later. And when they do, people are caught by surprise, packing kilograms faster than you ever did and having all sorts of diet-related health issues. And at that moment you'll be glad you gave up that nuttella dripping pancake for broccolli and a 20 minute cardio session. So learn to love your metabolism. I know it's hard... But give it a chance.

[astereotypicalnerd]

Being honest is a weakness.

It is. It simply is. I am 20 years old so I can't say I have great life experience to address this topic with the ample amount of wisdom it deserves. However, from what I do know and what I have seen in life, it's true. Honesty is nothing but a weakness.

I used to think that man is a naturally peaceful and kind creature and that it's actually society that has led people to lying, crime, selfishness and whatnot. But the more I dived into this area, I realized that, on the contrary, it's completely natural to be a bad person. It's actually society that's trying to install order and promote niceness(provided those pulling the strings actually want this). Animals use camouflage to catch their prey or avoid becoming one, humans use lies. Therefore, evolution is selectively destroying the humane traits we hold so dear. Our only hope is that human intelligence evolves to an extent that we gain some form of a global conscientiousness and we unite to make the world a better place. But that's Utopia. 

But you've been raised like one and developed into someone with radical thoughts. Should you conform? I can't tell you this. You should decide this on your own. I can hold a lecture on why it's important to be kind, nice, honest, sincere and so on, but in reality that would be selfish of me. Why? Because nobody deserves to be treated unequally and not everyone has will strong enough to say 'no'. If lying would get you a job and honesty would lead to starvation, what right would I, someone with somewhat great life conditions, have to tell you to not do it? Especially if you've already tried going another way about it.

But we shouldn't just give up. Just because we're going up a steep hill doesn't mean we should go back down because it's easier. You'll be able to see much more at the summit than at the bottom. I went to watch Captain America yesterday. I know that Steve Rogers is a fictional character, but some say the same for Jesus. Nevertheless, what the Cap represents is true virtue. And there's this moment in the movie *SPOILERS ALERT* where he calls for the aid of his fellow colleagues, telling them he's willing to walk the distance on his own if he has to. And that speech, as cheesy and fictional as it was, still managed to give me goosebumps. Especially when those that got on his side stood up to the enforcers and calmly rejected their demands saying: 'Captain's orders'.

So I made a new rule. Every time someone treats me in an unfair way, whether that's a girl, friend, colleague, teacher or just a random average Joe on the street, I'll just exclaim 'Captain's orders' in my loud mind and carry on climbing, cause I gotta feeling it's gonna be awesome. Somewhere there. On top of the hill. 

[astereotypicalnerd]

Jesus was cool. Sorta.

I'm going to start off by bluntly stating that I am an atheist. And at this point I will acknowledge your concern about the statement being an oxymoron, considering the title of the post. But please bare with me. Among my typical "nerdy" qualities is the never ending thirst for brutal rationalization of every information I acquire. I only enjoy mysticism when it comes to fiction because sometimes, it's just better that things remain unexplained(hint:"midi-chlorians"). But when it comes to the real world? Oh, boy! You either prove it or remove it. That being said, without any proof of God's existence, I find the belief unreliable and therefore see no point in it. But what about Jesus?

"Yeah, what about him?" your typical atheist might ask. See, apparently, by default, disbelief in an almighty being implies that one must also deny the existence of Jesus. While I find this point to be somewhat well-grounded, I disagree.

Firstly, even though I think that the people who lived two millennia ago were naive enough to start believing in God, I don't think they were naive enough to believe in Jesus's miracles, without even seeing the man. Hence, I find his existence, maybe not undeniable, but logical. 

Secondly, he was a liberal. I don't believe he walked on water(Although that would've been f'in awesome) but I kinda believe in him. Or, at least what he had to say. Think about it. He was a cool guy. While every one feared the wrath of the almighty being, he told them not to worry. "Chill bros! Enjoy life, he doesn't want to punish you! He loves you!" Jokes aside though, he really made a point. He accepted every one, regardless of appearance, capabilities or past and told them they only they had to do - "Forget your past and try to do your best!". He was a true humanist before he was a God's son. People didn't start following him because he told them God was speaking to him, they got that from every other preacher at that time. They followed him because they liked what he had to say. You know, just like everyone follows the cool kid in high school!

His tale has been retold in numerous ways and many things have been mistranslated. But I'd like to believe that he was an awesome guy, who decided to be selfless and teach the world a lesson. A human, just like you and me, but with moral values far beyond any man after him. And considering the beliefs that circled then, he got it not from somebody else, but from his own view on the world. And I'm not the only one. Check out this lengthy article by Richard Dawkins.  http://old.richarddawkins.net/articles/20-atheists-for-jesus Yes, you read correctly. One of the loudest atheists in the world supports this idea. And no, I didn't start thinking the same because he told me to. I actually had the thought and googled 'Atheists for Jesus'. Atheism is not a religion.

[astereotypicalnerd]

You like passionate people? Sure you don't.

Passion. A quality valued so unconditionally by men and women alike. At least, that's what people say. However, in reality, there are plenty of conditions which need to be fulfilled before a person would find passion to be a great attribute.

First and foremost, society favors talent above passion. A talented musician would always come on top over an untalented one with huge passion for the art. And that's okay, but the problem arises when they find the talented person much more passionate. Let the underdog have something!

Secondly, not everyone's passion is noticed or given praise. The laws of nature dictate that people who are more attractive or more prominent socially would be more popular, therefore making it a lot easier for them to display said passion. Remember those misfits who bring everyone to tears when they sing on talent shows? Would you say today's beautiful pop artists have more passion for singing than them?

Lastly, people are picky when it comes to passion. 'Oh my god, look at the way he plays the guitar! He is so passionate, I love passionate people!'. You don't love passionate people... You like people that play guitars. You know who else is passionate? That gamer kid. But video games are for geeks. It doesn't matter that that kid decided to stay at home rather than go out so he could practice and get to the top 0.1 percent of the world(only counting competitive players, the percentage is a lot smaller if you count everyone). No, the mediocre guitar player or skater who is plain average is worth more than the diligent guy who is a master at his field, just because he is passionate about something unpopular.

I am no exception to the rule. Honestly, I'd rather like a girl passionate about reading than football for example. But I wouldn't bluntly say that I really like how passionate she is. I might say, I really like how passionate she is about reading. But that football player, she'll get my praise as well.

[astereotypicalnerd]

Violent pacifism rocks!

Many of my moral and ethical values have been developed on foundations provided to me as a child. I don’t necessarily mean what my parents taught me, but external influence by media, religion and whatnot. It’s safe to say that among these influence, Star Wars has made quite the impact. Why Star Wars? Because through the Force and the separation of Jedi and Sith, George Lucas managed to depict two diametrically opposite sides. For me, it is the one true conflict between Good and Evil.

Now, I consider myself a fan of Star Wars, but I wouldn’t say that I am a true fanboy, because I simply don’t know(or care) about the names of each model of spaceship flown, or assault rifle used in the movies, although I salute people that do. However, I believe I know more about the Star Wars universe than your regular fan, and what I can say is even though I’d always side with Jedi, I think they’re pacifistic douchebags. Don’t get me wrong, I am all about peace. To a certain extent I might even consider myself a pacifist, but Jedi’s passive take on conflict is plain stupid and unfair to every good person in the galaxy that’s far, far, away.

Imagine the following scenario. You’re lost in a jungle are being attacked by a tiger. You’re on the ground and the only thing standing between your neck and its teeth is a piece of wood slowly breaking from the pressure. You have an army knife in one of your hands and could easily jab it in the beast, thus saving yourself. Oh, but there’s a cost… You’d have to kill an innocent tiger. Still, the fact that it’s a life or death situation calls for the immediate decision to terminate its life for the price of saving yours. The true Jedi way would have you assess the situation and then act accordingly, but what if the piece of wood breaks? - You’re dead.

Now, let’s take something else into account. Pacifism doesn’t really apply to a conflict with nature, but more to a conflict between two sentient sides. The tiger doesn’t “choose” to attack with such fury, because it’s not evil, but acting on primal instinct. But what if a human(or sentient being in the Star Wars universe) attacks you with the same amount of fury? What’s your excuse to “think” about it then? I mean sure, developing a strategy is the smartest thing to do, but thinking whether to take action or not? You’re going to have to find “the killer in you”.

If everyone was a true pacifist, the world would be a better place. But as long as there’s Evil, action has to be taken to protect Good. “But that would mean you are no better than them!” – No. That would not mean I am no better than them. On the contrary, I am really better than them, because I am not allowing their ways to function. I started doing martial arts not because I like to go around the street beating up people for shitty reasons like religion, but make those that do think again about assaulting someone next time. Sure, taking a gun away from a criminal won’t make him an honorary citizen, but I’d like to see him shoot someone with his bare hands.

If the Jedi employed their power for protecting the innocent more vigorously, there would be no slavery, no smuggling, no bounty hunters, no Sith(and ultimately no Star Wars, but that’s not my point). In dynamics fire is put out by water, but in social dynamics, sometimes you need to fight fire with fire. 

[astereotypicalnerd]

Caught up in between

astereotypical nerd(noun) 1. Someone who fits the nerd description in that the person in question is socially inept and has obscure interests, however he/she does not have the typical nerd appearance. Instead, he/she is fairly attractive and doesn't scream nerd right away.

I’ve always felt as if I wanted two disjunctive things at the same time. Kind of like doing drugs without any detrimental effects on my physical and mental wellbeing. Well drugs, not that much really, but I know I’d like to go crazy on some Chinese food right now without taking in all that sodium.

Food and drugs aside, I’ve being trying to tackle a much more complex problem - achieving social value without sacrificing my biggest passions. One might argue that following your passion results in positive social feedback, but just how many girls would find passion for gaming a great quality? Close to none.

I’d been told that a keyboard should be used for chatting with girls instead of moving a fictional character around a fictional world.  Also, Nu Metal is terrible music because apparently “it has no rhythm” and nobody likes it, not even metalheads , so neither should I(except for Numb by Linkin Park, everybody knows the lyrics to that one). And of course Star Wars is a dumb story about unreal things and the newest [insert random action movie actor here] movie is by far more realistic. Oh, you idiots.

Nevertheless, peer pressure got to me and high school molded me into something different from my true “nerd” potential. One of my favorite internet celebrities, Maddox, has a great article named “You’re not a nerd, geeks aren’t sexy and you don’t “fucking love” science.”. While I agree with the most part of what he has to say, I believe he’s wrong about the fact that a person must be perceived as socially and/or physically inadequate to be considered a nerd. I was there once, but I fought back.

I work out, I pay attention to fashion, I go out(not at clubs, oh heavens no), I shoot pictures, I play the bass, heck, I even ride a skateboard. But underneath all of these socially acceptable things I like doing, I am still the same person who’s “life is born out of obsessive dedication to a craft, discipline or some stupid shit that only I care about”. I've ultimately become an astereotypical nerd. You might say that I am another random hipster wannabe trying to act nerdy because apparently it’s hip, but it’s the other way around. I am a nerd trying to act cool.

Am I succeeding at it? Keep reading my blog.