Wednesday, May 16, 2007

Geeks and honesty

From the special features of the "Stranger Than Fiction" DVD:

"Geeks, if anything, are overly honest about what's true, or not. If something is true, it just has to be said."

This statement hit home for me. It reminds me of my mother's complaint that my brother are I are too honest with other people. She thinks we were raised too honest and so people take advantage of us.

It also speaks a bit to my habit of thinking aloud. I tend to inform people of facts, unsolicited, that I think are helpful to people. Unfortunately, I've learned over the years that most people who don't know me well don't appreciate my well-intentioned comments. It's a tough habit to break because my mouth moves tem times faster than my brain. Plus, it's still hard for me to sometimes understand that my "trivia" is not interesting to them.

You have no idea how hard this is for me. Everyone tells me, "say it to yourself first," or "just don't say it." It doesn't work like that. If you're used to saying, "hello" when you answer the phone, how long would it take to completely start saying something different like, "good day?" It's not the best analogy, but when you're used to something, it's tough to rewire the brain as if you're changing where you sit on the bus.

Loved this movie, by the way. The geek in me thought all the technical displays of his thoughts and counting were cool, especially in the men's restroom with the soap dispensers.

I'm off on vacation now... talk to you all after Memorial Day.

1 comment:

teahouse said...

Hey! Have a lovely vacation!