Why Being a Geek Is Awesome?极客为何了不起？

亚当·伊森　荣宁宁/译

Geeks are a subculture which is growing more and more prevalent in contemporary society： previously bullied and marginalized， thanks to shows like The Big Bang Theory， Doctor Who （heck1， sci-fi TV and films in general） and a change in public perception of a number of qualities that are considered desirable in an individual， being a geek is finally becoming cool.

极客文化是一种亚文化，在当今社会日趋流行。以前，极客受欺负、遭排斥，而随着《生活大爆炸》《神秘博士》等电视节目（通常就是科幻电影电视剧）的热播，以及公众对诸多特质是否可爱的认知改变，身为一名极客才成了越来越酷的事。

One of my favourite quotes is by the actor， writer and comedian， Simon Pegg：

对此，演员、作家、喜剧演员西蒙·佩格有句话深得我心：

“Being a geek is all about being honest about what you enjoy and not being afraid to demonstrate that affection. It means never having to play it cool about how much you like something. Its basically a license to proudly emote2 on a somewhat childish level rather than behave like a supposed adult. Being a geek is extremely liberating.”

“做一名极客就是要爱我所爱且无惧示爱，这意味着永远不必装酷掩饰强烈的爱。说白了，极客可以如孩童般恣意纵情、意气扬扬，而不必表现得像个所谓的成年人。成为极客就是充分释放天性。”

Being a geek is something to be proud of.  Here are a few reasons why this is the case：

身为极客是值得骄傲的事。究其原因，有以下几个方面：

The geek brain has an innate ability to focus intensely

极客的大脑天生可以高度集中注意力

When geeks put their minds to a task or subject， they will be able to focus on it like no other group of people. Its the reason geeks can plough through3 20 academic papers in a single setting， burn through an entire boxset of Breaking Bad in a weekend， the reason they keep having to increase the maximum character level cap in World of Warcraft， and one of the reasons top tech companies are looking for them. Imagine if someone could bring that level of laser-like focus to the work that needs to be done， and think about how quickly and efficiently any particular project could be completed？！

极客一旦投入一项任务或课题，便会全神贯注，专注程度非其他群体所能及。正因此，他们可以不挪窝儿地一口气读完20篇学术论文，在一个周末刷完《绝命毒师》整部剧集，禁不住不断拉满《魔兽世界》里的角色等级；也正因此，顶尖科技公司才会对极客求贤若渴。试想一下，如果一个人能够在工作时保持高度专注力，那他完成工作该有多迅速高效？！无论什么项目都一样。

Geeks are defined by their enthusiasm for things

极客为热爱而生

Geeks source4 props and replicas5 of the film and TV objects they think are awesome. They will wear t-shirts bearing catchphrases while they stand in line for hours to meet the creators and stars of the shows they watch obsessively， and they will even occasionally dress up as characters they love and go to conventions.

他們会搜罗自己认为顶好的影视剧道具和仿制品；为了见一面自己狂追的电视节目的制作人和明星，穿着印有节目中热梗的T恤衫排队数小时；甚至偶尔装扮成自己喜欢的人物角色去参加展会。

A geek is surprisingly resilient

极客韧性惊人

Geeks tend to be incredibly resilient and able to bounce back from pretty much anything. Thats why they make such good community moderators， able to take the ridiculous abuse of internet commenters on the chin6 and laugh at how stupid it is， rather than descending into a depressive shame-spiral and being unable to do anything for the rest of the day.

极客的韧性极强，几乎能从任何糟糕的境况中恢复过来。所以他们可以成为优秀的网络社区管理员，面对网络喷子的无脑抨击能够泰然处之，嗤笑其言论愚蠢至极，而不是陷入令人消沉的羞耻漩涡，惶惶不可终日。

The geek ‘Mind Palaces are vast and full of knowledge

极客的“思维宫殿”容量巨大，知识满堂

Sure， a lot of the knowledge that fills their Mind Palaces might be largely useless pop culture references， but along with the focus that allows them to concentrate on things like technical detail， academia， video games and comic books comes a certain sponge-like quality to their brains. Once they see something a few times， they can commit it to memory with a surprising degree of accuracy， and secrete7 it away in the storage locker facility that is the geek-brain.

当然，极客的“思维宫殿”中储存的知识也许大部分都是无用的流行文化梗。但是，他们能全神贯注于技术细节、学术研究、电子游戏、漫画书等事物，那种专注力也让他们的大脑有了某种类似海绵的特质。东西看上几遍，就能以惊人的准确度记下来，然后将其贮藏在“极客大脑”这个储物柜中。

Geeks are innovators

极客亦创客

Geeks love new technology and love sharing news and information about it. Follow a geek on Twitter and youll know all about that stuff weeks before you would have done otherwise， usually the moment its announced.

极客酷爱新技术，乐于分享相关资讯。如果你在推特上关注一位极客，通常只要新产品一发布，你便能尽知其事，比通过其他渠道了解抢先好几个星期。

Geeks are usually the ones who have created the latest innovations， and geeks are usually pioneering the field that they work within.

极客常立创新之潮头，开领域之先河。

The truth is， all of us are geeks on some level， about something. However， most of us dont focus our inner geek on utilising some of the most obvious， and powerful， paths to turn ideas into game-changing8 success. Here are two critical areas you should explore if you want to turn your geeky ideas into results.

其實，我们人人都是极客，只不过程度有深浅，所爱有不同。然而，我们大多数人没有将内在的极客意识专注于利用一些最显见和最强大的途径，以把各种想法转化为能够产生重大影响的成功。如果你想把心中的极客式创意转变为现实成果，应该从以下两个重要方面努力：

Find a mentor

找一位导师

Yes， we can talk about leaders like Gates， Zuckerberg， and Branson9. We can hold them all in a mentor-ish spotlight to learn all about their accomplishments. But， when it comes to finding a true mentor， its important to personally know the individual well enough that they can teach you both the things they did right， and the things they did wrong.

说起导师，我们当然可以聊聊盖茨、扎克伯格和布兰森等商界领袖，将他们统统奉为聚光灯下的导师，大学特学其成功之处。但是，若要找到真正的导师，与其熟识十分重要，这样他们才能向你坦诚传授自己的成败得失。

“Ive failed more than anyone I know，” digital innovator Jay Samit told in a recent interview. “Theres great value in failure.” Find a mentor that can show you both what you should do， and what you should stop doing. At the very least， be around people who can aid the mentoring process and that you can progressively learn from. You know the old adage： if youre the cleverest person in the room， you need to change rooms. Go to places where youll be stretched and have to strive to rise up and meet those that are ahead of you.

“我失败的次数比我认识的任何人都多。”美国数字媒体创新人物杰伊·萨米特在近期的一次采访中谈道，“失败弥足珍贵。”找一位既能指导你应该做什么、又能告诫你应该停止做什么的导师。至少，要跟这样一些人打交道：要么在你接受指导的过程中他们能对你有所帮助，要么你能越来越多地从他们身上学到东西。有句老话想必你知道：“如果你是房间里最聪明的人，那你就要换个房间了。”到那些能够挑战你的极限、逼迫你努力向上的地方去，结识那些领先于你的人。

Explore

去探索发现

Rest and relaxation is important to our well-being. But， theres more to holidays than just dipping your toes in the water. Going somewhere new， and seeing different things and the different ways people do things leads to unbelievable breakthroughs， sometimes from the most unexpected places.

休息和放松对我们的身心健康十分重要。然而，度假不只是享受在海边踏浪的欢愉。去一个新的地方，看不同的事物，观察人们不一样的行事方式，会带来难以置信的突破，这些突破有时源自让人最意想不到的地方。

I dont just mean this literally. Seek out environments， groups， trainings， courses， people and more besides， that starts a journey of exploration and discovery for you. Learning， developing and humbly wanting to know more is the road of the geek.

我并不是说一定真的去什么地方。去找寻能够为你开启探索与发现之旅的任何事物——环境、团体、培训、课程、人，如此等等。学而不倦，不断精进，虚心求知，此乃极客的修为之路。

Get lost a few times， and you derive a deeper understanding of the area.

即使在探索之旅中迷路几次也无妨，你对这一领域会有更加深刻的理解。

Being a geek used to draw up images of social misfits， awkward conversations， and less than attractive personalities. But， thats not the case anymore， as geeks have become the global trendsetters and influencers. Its a welcome message for many of us. …and its a club were not ashamed to belong to.

不合群，言談古怪，缺乏人格魅力——这是以往人们对极客的印象。但是，随着极客成为全球潮流的引领者和影响者，人们对极客的印象已经改变。对许多人而言，这是一件好事，我们不必再因属于极客群体而感到难为情。

Go embrace your inner geek.

所以，拥抱你内心的极客精神吧！

（译者为“《英语世界》杯”翻译大赛获奖者）