This isn't a must-see, but it's an amiable curiosity.

The star, Jon Heder, is either a real geek or one of the best actors of his generation. His geekiness – his face, his gait, his carriage – was so dead on it made me uncomfortable.

Maybe because my heart goes out to geeks. Always has. Not because they don’t get it, but because they can’t get it.

Science is learning more and more about geeks. One of the newer theories is that they have a perceptual defect (genetic or MBD – minimal brain damage) that prevents them from learning how to behave in social situations. They don’t pick up on what’s appropriate within their environment / peer group and what’s not. They’re oblivious to glazing eyes during their pedantic discourse on the germination of saprophytic plants, a subject that they assume fascinates everyone as much as them. The really sad thing is that no matter how much they pretend not to care, many of them want desperately to belong. This separates them from the misanthropic types or the truly unique individuals who have little or no use for other people.

One of the things that fascinates me about geeks is their style of dress. Their inability to pick up on social cues renders them immune to the fashionistas; they dress the way they feel or in what’s comfortable or practical (e.g. the pocket protector) or simply available. This naturally earns them abuse from the mindless trendoids who feel threatened by a true original.

I just saw this on Monday after a friend raved about it. It was mildly entertaining but not one that I would recommend. You're right about the star... either a real geek or a great actor. It's hard to tell.

The only moment I thougt was real funny was when the brothers internet girl friend shows up and he starts changing the way he dresses. I love his choice of clothes!

Other then that only a few chuckles throughout.

Paul, the "geek disease" to which you refer is called Asperger's Syndrome. It is a sort of high functioning autism. A lot of Aspies lack empathy which is why they can't read social cues. Some of them desperately want friends and others just don't care and are happy to be in their own world. However, they can LEARN (just as you'd learn your multiplication tables) to read social cues and how to interact properly. And eventually they can develop a sense of empathy... it just depends on the individual.

It's hard to parent because whereas with most kids, you can usually get them to understand how the other person they hit (or whatever) is feeling, with Aspies that doesn't work. Also, even though they might lack empathy with other people they can feel intensely for animals or plants or even something not alive. Last year Hollis had a breakdown because a little boy (smaller than him) was hacking the bark off a tree and killing bugs on the ground with a toy axe. He struck the boy on the back and then ran up to me crying and terribly upset because the boy was "hurting living things." Yet he didn't see anything wrong with hitting the boy--he just saw it as a natural logical consequence of what happens when you kill living things.

Anyway in the last year or so he has really made A LOT of progress with his social skills and is (usually) no longer completely overwhelmed in social situations. So not all of them end up hopeless geeks. He still doesn't have much to do with other kids, but that's more a product of his giftedness--he just enjoys adult company more.

Lisa

This isn't a must-see, but it's an amiable curiosity.

The star, Jon Heder, is either a real geek or one of the best actors of his generation. His geekiness – his face, his gait, his carriage – was so dead on it made me uncomfortable.

Maybe because my heart goes out to geeks. Always has. Not because they don’t get it, but because they can’t get it.

Science is learning more and more about geeks. One of the newer theories is that they have a perceptual defect (genetic or MBD – minimal brain damage) that prevents them from learning how to behave in social situations. They don’t pick up on what’s appropriate within their environment / peer group and what’s not. They’re oblivious to glazing eyes during their pedantic discourse on the germination of saprophytic plants, a subject that they assume fascinates everyone as much as them. The really sad thing is that no matter how much they pretend not to care, many of them want desperately to belong. This separates them from the misanthropic types or the truly unique individuals who have little or no use for other people.

One of the things that fascinates me about geeks is their style of dress. Their inability to pick up on social cues renders them immune to the fashionistas; they dress the way they feel or in what’s comfortable or practical (e.g. the pocket protector) or simply available. This naturally earns them abuse from the mindless trendoids who feel threatened by a true original.

Speaking about the germination of saprophytic plants... Oh, yeah. Right. Geeks. I'd venture to guess that the Bronx High School of Science has the highest ratio of geeks to non-geeks on the planet Earth. But, by God, they were =great= to study with. "Uh, Jeremy, my brain is hurting--can we go over the Krebs Cycle again? Slow, this time?" "The Krebs Cycle? Sure, Mike! It's easy. Watch. I'll diagram it for you. Watch." The greatest geek I knew at Science was a dude called Alex Gorski. Paul, he was a genius. There's no other way to put it. We had a few classes together over the years, and he was the undisputed star in every class. I saw him make a Nobel-nominee in Physics put his hand to his chin to ponder one of Alex's questions. And one year, we took a history class together. Our teacher, Dr. Grodon, warned us that the midterm would be a =killer=. "We're going to separate the scholars from the pretenders here, class," she said. "Study hard!" Day came, we got our tests back. Dr. Grodon was smiling. "Class, I'm happy to report to you that we must be doing something right here. Everyone in this room passed this very difficult test. Unfortunately, that was not the case in some of the other classes, where some students might have outside interests not involving scholarship. Perhaps they can get jobs with the Post Office. And I'm very pleased to announce that 2 of you got the highest marks in the entire Junior class. Mike Lindner scored 99." I raised my fists in triumph. Who was gonna beat that? Well, you know who. "Alex Gorski scored 100." I turned to him, across the room, and yelled, "We did ourselves proud, partner!" Alex responded by putting his thumbs in his ears, wiggling his fingers, and making a rude noise with his mouth. That elicited groans and scornful laughter. Tripple-distilled geekiness manifest! Sadly, Alex came to a grim end. He got an all-expenses-paid scholarship to Harvard, where he wanted to learn how to design nuclear submarines. One morning in his first year, he was found dead outside his dorm, from a fall from his 4th floor room. Did he jump? Didn't seem like that kind of guy, but who knows what really goes on in another person's head. Was he pushed? I can see that happening, but no one was ever charged or even suspected. I thought, at the time I heard the news, that maybe he was =pulled= by a minion of the Dark Lords who wish no competiton. But I did way too many drugs in those days. It was a real loss, though. Alex was one of those people you =knew= you'd be hearing more about. Getting back to the plants, though...

Paul, the "geek disease" to which you refer is called Asperger's Syndrome.

You are wise, Oh Queen, and the kid in Napoleon Dynamite had all the stigmata of Asperger's. But I was thinking more of the kids who don't fit so neatly into the syndrome. They do have empathy but don't know how to express it. Or when they have expressed it they've been shot down enough times to make them retreat into a shell.

He struck the boy on the back and then ran up to me crying and terribly upset because the boy was "hurting living things." Yet he didn't see anything wrong with hitting the boy--he just saw it as a natural logical consequence of what happens when you kill living things.

Maybe he saw himself defending the defenseless.

Anyway in the last year or so he has really made A LOT of progress with his social skills and is (usually) no longer completely overwhelmed in social situations. So not all of them end up hopeless geeks. He still doesn't have much to do with other kids, but that's more a product of his giftedness--he just enjoys adult company more.

I find Hollis charming.

I just saw this on Monday after a friend raved about it. It was mildly entertaining but not one that I would recommend. You're right about the star... either a real geek or a great actor. It's hard to tell.

The only moment I thougt was real funny was when the brothers internet girl friend shows up and he starts changing the way he dresses. I love his choice of clothes!

Other then that only a few chuckles throughout.

I suspect very much he's a great actor. In my observation, geeks are inner-directed people, while show-biz kids are outer-directed. If a geek understood interpersonal and group politics well enough to navigate the shark-filled waters of Hollywood and get a big-time acting gig, well, he wouldn't be a geek, would he?

Here's one to make us all feel a bit old(er) - I thought "Deb" looked familiar. Then it hit me, she was "Enola" in Waterworld. It just doesn't seem like it's been almost 10 years.

Best scene in the film - Farmer Lyle and the cow.

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I saw this last night and, like everyone else so far, was mildly entertained. At the end I felt like it was one, long set-up for the dance. I used to work with a guy who would talk like Napoleon and Kip. He was a genius with computers, but didn't have a clue about the social graces. I also have a five-year-old nephew diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome. Another symptom of this form of autism is clumsiness, usually characterized by the uncoordinated way they run with their arms dangling or flailing.

This isn't a must-see, but it's an amiable curiosity.

The star, Jon Heder, is either a real geek or one of the best actors of his generation. His geekiness – his face, his gait, his carriage – was so dead on it made me uncomfortable.

Maybe because my heart goes out to geeks. Always has. Not because they don’t get it, but because they can’t get it.

Science is learning more and more about geeks. One of the newer theories is that they have a perceptual defect (genetic or MBD – minimal brain damage) that prevents them from learning how to behave in social situations. They don’t pick up on what’s appropriate within their environment / peer group and what’s not. They’re oblivious to glazing eyes during their pedantic discourse on the germination of saprophytic plants, a subject that they assume fascinates everyone as much as them. The really sad thing is that no matter how much they pretend not to care, many of them want desperately to belong. This separates them from the misanthropic types or the truly unique individuals who have little or no use for other people.

One of the things that fascinates me about geeks is their style of dress. Their inability to pick up on social cues renders them immune to the fashionistas; they dress the way they feel or in what’s comfortable or practical (e.g. the pocket protector) or simply available. This naturally earns them abuse from the mindless trendoids who feel threatened by a true original.

So, Paul, does that mean I should lose the pocket protector and slide rule?

So, Paul, does that mean I should lose the pocket protector and slide rule?

Keep the slide rule!

I've still got mine. In future, you can show the grand kids how it was done back in olden times.

I lost the pocket protector when my last fountain pen died.

Remember ink wells in school desks?

Ken V.