Re: ::scr The Geek Syndrome

[Simon Batistoni <simon@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On 08/12/01 07:26 -0800, celia romaniuk wrote:
> On Fri, 7 Dec 2001, Earle Martin wrote:
> 
> > Good grief - I'm dyspraxic! I had no idea! There were always a few things I
> > thought were because of the ADD - my clumsiness, short term problems,
> > abysmal sense of direction, difficulty in making my mouth produce what I'm
> > thinking about - for a long time I've thought my mouth was "slower than my
> > brain" but have never known why. "Sensitive to touch" - that's fascinating.
> > I've always been ultra-ticklish, and now I know why.
>   
> Hm. I'm all those things too, but I don't think I'm dyspraxic. I can't
> help thinking here of 'medical studentitis',

You on't actually name it as such anywhere in this post, but you're
talking about hypochondria. I think this fits the same pattern as
the depression stuff that's already been discussed in this thread.
Basically, with a great deal of access to pertinent information, and
a general propensity to self-analyse, it is very, very easy for
geeks to become hypochondriac.

My dad suffered several bouts of fairly deep hypochondriac, mainly
when he was stressed by things (and hey, he married a serious bitch
(pause while I reach for a large pony)), but because he was a
trained clinical pharmacist, with access to the medical library of a
large teaching hospital he had all the material he needed to feed
his hypochondria.



Ultimately, we're all human. We've been born with an incredibly
powerful analytical machine lodged in our skulls, and yet the same
hardware accommodates several powerful survival routines, including
the irresistible urge to have sex. This kind of crap tends to mess
you up.

> Having said all that, I think it's important to recognise issues,
> especially with kids, and to help them find ways of dealing with things
> that might be hindering their education, but also accepting aspects of
> their personality.

I constantly think that the main problem with education (at least in
this country) is that it now places far too much emphasis on
training for specific tasks, rather than giving children a strong
emotional and analytical platform, from which they can deal with any
aspects of life, or jobs, that they encounter once they come of age.

I didn't need or want to be trained to write press releases, or
calculate quadratic equations. I did need help working out where I
fitted in the world, and I needed to cultivate interest in things
that, to this day, both help me do my job, and provide me with
recreational brain-food when I'm not slumped in front of a keyboard.
But this is my standard education rant, and right now I'm too drunk
to make it lucid. :)

> Erm, that was more random that I hoped it would be.

No it wasn't. You're over-analysing with that powerful analytical
machine of yours. ;) It was a good explanation of the dangers of
self-analysis. Which makes me wonder if there's any point at all to
this post. Which there probably isn't. Insert self-referential
looping insecurity... 

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