"I don't know half of you half as well as I should like; and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve."

- Bilbo, Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien

Let's talk about shyness. Now even with my phenomenal chicness that occasionally allows me to chameleon through life as a non-geek, I do have that traitorous trait of shyness. Worse, no one will believe me! True with my friends I am outgoing to the point of obnoxiousness and in a classroom my hand is the first in the air with a side of 'Mr.Kotter! Mr. Kotter!". However, these are two places that I actually feel comfortable: friends and in academic settings.

With new groups of people? I FREAK OUT. As the poor Nox found out when he introduced me to a dozen of his friends all at once and then scampered off to rejoice in the reunion. I was polite, withdrawn and when he came to check on me out of sight of others, I burst into a messy pile of tears. Very embarrassing and not at all chic. And my poor boyfriend? Comforted me in a shellshocked sort of manner. He is like unto the butterfly of social and was hard pressed to get where I was coming from.

I was fine after a bit of hugging, but it did get me thinking. Why does geekism go hand in hand with shyness? Everyone comments on the social awkwardness of geeks and for the most part I have found this to hold fairly true, myself included.

Partially, it's the nature of the beast. Alternate universes filled with magic and/or futuristic visions are going to be attractive to people who need to escape because they don't feel they fit in. That only covers a part of it as there are plenty of other ways to play the escapist like romance novels, extreme sports and fantasy football.

My current theory is about power. So many people who feel like outsiders long for power in one form or another. If you play an rpg or know the name of Picard's fish then you have power of knowledge. You know the system, you know the language. You are the Dungeon Master.

It's a lot safer then giving all of us real guns. Geeks have time, patience and grudges. Vorpal Swords are an infinitely better choice.

Catch you on the flipside,
Chic Geek Librarian