Ever get bashed by people for being 'techy'?
- Thread starter russell664
- Start date
There's a changing of opinion these days with geek/nerd being looked up to as opposed to stigmatised negatively. At least that's the feeling I get.
Either way I've never been bashed in a negative way. "Friendly banter" with my friends, sure!
Either way I've never been bashed in a negative way. "Friendly banter" with my friends, sure!
I would agree actually. Now that everyone's got tech all over their house, in their pockets, etc tech people are now those that know all about this stuff. Sometimes I joke that to get less hassle at social gatherings, I should tell people I'm a doctor.
For instance this weekend, I was sorting out the back of my sister's TV. Their DVD player was on the blink because they'd plugged it via SCART and a HDMI adapter. I replaced that with a spare HDMI cable they already had, and everything was okay again. There are people out there who literally cannot put the square peg in the square hole.
I diagnosed their broadband, told them that yes, the electrician's apprentice that had cut and then taped up their phone lines had buggered their internet speed, that their wiring was ancient and went backwards and forwards inside and outside the house, the broadband installer from BT was taking the mickey with not putting a proper socket in for their broadband, why the picture on their DVD player was soft up close on their 1080P TV, why they had to leave their Sky box powered if they actually wanted it to record stuff, how to connect their laptop to a projector, etc.
If these were cars, it would be the equivalent of people not knowing where to put the petrol in, yet there are people like that all over.
I'm quite happy to help out close family, but I don't build PCs for anyone but myself any more, because I don't want to deal with supporting it afterwards. I just send people to one of the big online PC places and say "buy one of those".
As an aside, my sister's main oven in her kitchen isn't heating up. It's quite obvious the door isn't seating against the seal. I got the story of how her sister in law, whilst cooking a massive turkey last Christmas asked if she could put the tray on the open door while turning it. She did, and looks like she bent the hinges. I explained that every oven manual clearly tells you not to put things on the oven doors, because they are not designed for that. My sister replied "only geeks like you read manuals". I replied "What, geeks without bent oven doors you mean?"
This is the level of people I'm dealing with, and what most people are like. Too lazy to educate themselves, so making wilfully ignorant mistakes because they are clueless, and then you having to explain/fix it for them. More than once.
The only time anyone has ever had a problem with it is when I spent far too much time playing CS:S rather than studying for my GCSE/A levels, then again I've lost most of my interest in gaming these days and I spend all day working on a computer so by the time I get home the most I do is a bit of forum browsing really.
Although I now fill the time/money I used to use on hardware either fiddling with my bike or in the gym.
Although I now fill the time/money I used to use on hardware either fiddling with my bike or in the gym.
