Why Being a Geek Is Awesome?極客為何了不起？

亞當·伊森　榮寧寧/譯

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.

極客文化是一種亞文化，在當今社會日趨流行。以前，極客受欺負、遭排斥，而隨著《生活大爆炸》《神秘博士》等電視節目（通常就是科幻電影電視劇）的熱播，以及公眾對諸多特質是否可愛的認知改變，身為一名極客才成了越來越酷的事。

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

對此，演員、作家、喜劇演員西蒙·佩格有句話深得我心：

“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.”

“做一名極客就是要愛我所愛且無懼示愛，這意味著永遠不必裝酷掩飾強烈的愛。說白了，極客可以如孩童般恣意縱情、意氣揚揚，而不必表現得像個所謂的成年人。成為極客就是充分釋放天性。”

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

身為極客是值得驕傲的事。究其原因，有以下幾個方面：

The geek brain has an innate ability to focus intensely

極客的大腦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？！

極客一旦投入一項任務或課題，便會全神貫注，專注程度非其他群體所能及。正因此，他們可以不挪窩兒地一口氣讀完20篇學術論文，在一個周末刷完《絕命毒師》整部劇集，禁不住不斷拉滿《魔獸世界》里的角色等級；也正因此，頂尖科技公司才會對極客求賢若渴。試想一下，如果一個人能夠在工作時保持高度專注力，那他完成工作該有多迅速高效？！無論什么項目都一樣。

Geeks are defined by their enthusiasm for things

極客為熱愛而生

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.

他們會搜羅自己認為頂好的影視劇道具和仿制品；為了見一面自己狂追的電視節目的制作人和明星，穿著印有節目中熱梗的T恤衫排隊數小時；甚至偶爾裝扮成自己喜歡的人物角色去參加展會。

A geek is surprisingly resilient

極客韌性驚人

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.

極客的韌性極強，幾乎能從任何糟糕的境況中恢復過來。所以他們可以成為優秀的網絡社區管理員，面對網絡噴子的無腦抨擊能夠泰然處之，嗤笑其言論愚蠢至極，而不是陷入令人消沉的羞恥漩渦，惶惶不可終日。

The geek ‘Mind Palaces are vast and full of knowledge

極客的“思維宮殿”容量巨大，知識滿堂

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.

當然，極客的“思維宮殿”中儲存的知識也許大部分都是無用的流行文化梗。但是，他們能全神貫注于技術細節、學術研究、電子游戲、漫畫書等事物，那種專注力也讓他們的大腦有了某種類似海綿的特質。東西看上幾遍，就能以驚人的準確度記下來，然后將其貯藏在“極客大腦”這個儲物柜中。

Geeks are innovators

極客亦創客

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.

極客酷愛新技術，樂于分享相關資訊。如果你在推特上關注一位極客，通常只要新產品一發布，你便能盡知其事，比通過其他渠道了解搶先好幾個星期。

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

極客常立創新之潮頭，開領域之先河。

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，我們人人都是極客，只不過程度有深淺，所愛有不同。然而，我們大多數人沒有將內在的極客意識專注于利用一些最顯見和最強大的途徑，以把各種想法轉化為能夠產生重大影響的成功。如果你想把心中的極客式創意轉變為現實成果，應該從以下兩個重要方面努力：

Find a mentor

找一位導師

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.

說起導師，我們當然可以聊聊蓋茨、扎克伯格和布蘭森等商界領袖，將他們統統奉為聚光燈下的導師，大學特學其成功之處。但是，若要找到真正的導師，與其熟識十分重要，這樣他們才能向你坦誠傳授自己的成敗得失。

“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.

“我失敗的次數比我認識的任何人都多。”美國數字媒體創新人物杰伊·薩米特在近期的一次采訪中談道，“失敗彌足珍貴。”找一位既能指導你應該做什么、又能告誡你應該停止做什么的導師。至少，要跟這樣一些人打交道：要么在你接受指導的過程中他們能對你有所幫助，要么你能越來越多地從他們身上學到東西。有句老話想必你知道：“如果你是房間里最聰明的人，那你就要換個房間了。”到那些能夠挑戰你的極限、逼迫你努力向上的地方去，結識那些領先于你的人。

Explore

去探索發現

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.

休息和放松對我們的身心健康十分重要。然而，度假不只是享受在海邊踏浪的歡愉。去一個新的地方，看不同的事物，觀察人們不一樣的行事方式，會帶來難以置信的突破，這些突破有時源自讓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.

我并不是說一定真的去什么地方。去找尋能夠為你開啟探索與發現之旅的任何事物——環境、團體、培訓、課程、人，如此等等。學而不倦，不斷精進，虛心求知，此乃極客的修為之路。

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

即使在探索之旅中迷路幾次也無妨，你對這一領域會有更加深刻的理解。

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——這是以往人們對極客的印象。但是，隨著極客成為全球潮流的引領者和影響者，人們對極客的印象已經改變。對許多人而言，這是一件好事，我們不必再因屬于極客群體而感到難為情。

Go embrace your inner geek.

所以，擁抱你內心的極客精神吧！

（譯者為“《英語世界》杯”翻譯大賽獲獎者）