Archive - April 21st, 2014

“Geek culture is mainstream culture. We’ve basically won. But we continue to define ourselves as…”

April 21 Comments Off on “Geek culture is mainstream culture. We’ve basically won. But we continue to define ourselves as…” Category: Feed, Tumblr

Geek culture is mainstream culture. We’ve basically won. But we continue to define ourselves as outcasts and losers – insisting that being a geek means being a socially awkward freak who is still – somehow – morally and intellectually superior to the people around him.

We’re used to defining ourselves in opposition to others and assuming that by not being X (in this case, jocks, bros, etc.) we’re also not Y (bullies, rapists, harassers). We get caught up in the identity of “geek” being “outsiders”, meaning that we’re the excluded. If we start to question those definitions then… who are we? How are we supposed to identify ourselves? How are we supposed to know that, deep down inside, we’re the superior ones?

Far easier to pretend it’s not a problem.

Ending Sexual Harassment In Geek Culture

The collapsing higher education pyramid

April 21 Comments Off on The collapsing higher education pyramid Category: Feed, Tumblr

Buried in a story about how it is just as easy as it used to be to get into college is a quiet notification of the impending burst of the Higher Ed bubble:

“The number of American high school seniors is shrinking, having peaked in 2011. At the same time, according to Noodle’s data, the number of seats at competitive colleges has grown faster than the total pool of qualified applicants”

“It’s a kind of benevolent Ponzi scheme, one that results in a lot of very cool services being…”

April 21 Comments Off on “It’s a kind of benevolent Ponzi scheme, one that results in a lot of very cool services being…” Category: Feed, Tumblr

“It’s a kind of benevolent Ponzi scheme, one that results in a lot of very cool services being provided at or below cost to a select group of urban consumers, and a lot of traditional businesses being forced to paddle hard to stay afloat. The profitless start-up model should worry us about the future of commerce and competition, even as we take advantage of its gifts.”

The Problem With Profitless Start-ups