21st Century Courtesy
Greetings, fellow nerds of the 21st century.
I get it. You’re nerds. You have high intelligence, a tendency to hyper-focus on one task at a time, and a sometimes comical lack of social graces. With the coming of the computer age, you went from being basement dwelling ham radio operators to well paid engineers and business moguls. You are more mainstream because you can openly be a nerd in mixed company nowadays. And that’s great.
But, you are irritating. And there are a few things you need to know:
* It is rude to read or compose SMSes while someone is talking to you.
* You do not have ADHD. You convinced yourself you do, and use it as an excuse not to have any self control or personal responsibility. And everyone knows it.
* It is annoying to everyone in the room when you insist they watch a YouTube video you found. It is the same level of self-indulgence as forcing them to look at vacation slides. This can also lead to a YouTube Spiral of Nerdity which will last the rest of the night.
* People aren’t NEARLY as interested in your pets as you are.
* People who do not play the video game you’re talking about are not interested in stories about it. People who DO play that game probably aren’t interested either.
* Nobody wants to hear about the fanfic you’re writing, comic you’re making, program you’re writing in your spare time, or board game you’re inventing.
* If you’re overweight, it’s NOT because you have a special metabolism or medical condition. It’s because you eat a lot and get no exercise.
* If you have no girlfriend, it’s NOT because women don’t appreciate intelligence and are seeking an alpha male. It’s because your cocoon lifestyle rarely allows you to meet women at all, and when you do, you don’t talk to them.
* When you make a six-figure salary and argue about a $1 discrepancy in a lunch bill, you’re just being a tightfisted cheap-ass. Also, 15% is a MINIMUM amount to tip. MINIMUM. Only if the waitress spits on your face do you go below that value.
* There is no reason for an American citizen to learn Japanese.
* Finding edge cases and exceptions to everything someone says is spectacularly irritating. Even now you are doing it to the various blanket statements in this list. Stop it.
-ATW
PS: I'm personally guilty of several of those. :)
I get it. You’re nerds. You have high intelligence, a tendency to hyper-focus on one task at a time, and a sometimes comical lack of social graces. With the coming of the computer age, you went from being basement dwelling ham radio operators to well paid engineers and business moguls. You are more mainstream because you can openly be a nerd in mixed company nowadays. And that’s great.
But, you are irritating. And there are a few things you need to know:
* It is rude to read or compose SMSes while someone is talking to you.
* You do not have ADHD. You convinced yourself you do, and use it as an excuse not to have any self control or personal responsibility. And everyone knows it.
* It is annoying to everyone in the room when you insist they watch a YouTube video you found. It is the same level of self-indulgence as forcing them to look at vacation slides. This can also lead to a YouTube Spiral of Nerdity which will last the rest of the night.
* People aren’t NEARLY as interested in your pets as you are.
* People who do not play the video game you’re talking about are not interested in stories about it. People who DO play that game probably aren’t interested either.
* Nobody wants to hear about the fanfic you’re writing, comic you’re making, program you’re writing in your spare time, or board game you’re inventing.
* If you’re overweight, it’s NOT because you have a special metabolism or medical condition. It’s because you eat a lot and get no exercise.
* If you have no girlfriend, it’s NOT because women don’t appreciate intelligence and are seeking an alpha male. It’s because your cocoon lifestyle rarely allows you to meet women at all, and when you do, you don’t talk to them.
* When you make a six-figure salary and argue about a $1 discrepancy in a lunch bill, you’re just being a tightfisted cheap-ass. Also, 15% is a MINIMUM amount to tip. MINIMUM. Only if the waitress spits on your face do you go below that value.
* There is no reason for an American citizen to learn Japanese.
* Finding edge cases and exceptions to everything someone says is spectacularly irritating. Even now you are doing it to the various blanket statements in this list. Stop it.
-ATW
PS: I'm personally guilty of several of those. :)