So why build a site dedicated to development for geeks and nerds? My reasoning is this: there are all sorts of self-development sites and resources that cover most people, but hardly any that are geared toward geeks and nerds specifically.
So I want to get this out of the way right off, I use the terms geek and nerd interchangeably. That’s because I’ve always heard them used in the same context (generally in a derogatory sense until the last few years), and well I’m lazy and it’s how I use them. If you don’t like it feel free to comment/whine/CAPS LOCK.
So where did this crazy idea to cater geeks come from? I read Chris Hardwick’s book: The Nerdist Way (wrote a review about it here), he points out that nerds are really defined by a specific quality: Obsessive Creativity. If you consider yourself a nerd, you should be able to understand what I’m talking about. Think about your life, there’s at least one area where you’re obsessive or have been obsessive. My goal for this point in my life is to become a life coach, to help others find what makes them happy and run with it.
Reading The Nerdist Way made me realize something, nerds have the ability to focus, (hence the obsessive part). With all of the self-development stuff I’ve read, they constantly talk about the importance of being able to focus on what you want to do.
I saw a Ted Talk by Jane McConigal about using gaming to create a better world. She talked about how the amount of time many games spend playing World of Warcraft specifically and how they’re constantly having to learn new and evolving ways to defeat obstacles.
I think that fills the the creative part of the definition, as well the amount of time covers the obsessive part. As she pointed out in her talk, imagine if that obsessiveness was harnessed?
I have a belief that everyone has a desire to contribute something worthwhile to the rest of the world. This is backed up by the research done by Martin Seligman in the area of Positive Psychology. In his Ted Talk, Dr. Seligman talks about needing engagement in a task in order to live a more fulfilled life.
So putting these ideas into a larger picture, I came up with the idea of studying self-development with an eye toward applying the knowledge and developing techniques to help geeks develop their potential. Because well, lets face it with the current state of affairs in the world, we’re going to need all the help we can get.
From a more cynical/evolutionary perspective, we need to get nerds in a position where we can reproduce. It really seems like the stupid people in the world are out breeding the smart ones.
There’s an immense amount of talent that’s untapped, I want to see everyone get paid (and laid) for doing what they enjoy.