Dominica May

Sport has been a career option since ancient times and chariot racing, but what in the human complex has caused humans to be so fascinated with watching such activities, as opposed to more mental stimulation? In South Korea, they have turned playing video games into a celebrity affair, and the best gamers in the country are well known. Given how being seen as a geek is no longer seen as being an unpopular activity, does that mean there will be openings for other new “celebrity” activities in the future that are related to geek activities?

Personally I am not a fan of watching sport, and I can’t understand why watching such activities on television warrants such high pay cheques for the “best of the best.” More so than the “best of the best” in most fields. Would a computer programmer ever be able to build up a per annum pay cheque in the millions? What if we watched the programmer writing his program on the television?

I suppose watching someone actually writing a computer program is not particularly interesting, but playing with programs and seeing them in action, and how they benefit the community/society/etc, on the other hand, can be. Whilst there may be awards for such feats, they are not as publicly recognised as, say, the Oscars. Even video games don’t get an awards night on TV despite the fact the video game industry makes more money than the film industry.

Personally I do think the next step to geek popularity is to overrun the sporting celebrity status. We could have competitions of geeks vs athletes on television, and let the world decide just which lifestyle choice renders a person properly superior. Mind vs Physicalities. Quite possibly even intelligence vs appearance. Because whilst many sporting “heroes,” particularly those in every type of football (Aussie Rules, soccer, American and so forth) may appear buff and therefore also attractive, are they also exercising their minds? How much of a role model can they be for our children? There are countless examples of drug use by these people now.

So that’s what I’d like to see – a grand, world competition, broadcast on public television, that tests geeks and sporting heroes on multiple areas that play to both their strengths and weaknesses, and we can have a reality TV style vote where the public decides exactly what kind of person they would prefer to not only see on TV, but be a role model for future generations.

Personally? I’d be supporting the geeks. But then I am one. I am also involved in quite a lot of geeky activities and pursuits where a lot of people, I think, would agree. But maybe I am presuming such things given the praise I have recently received for writing PHP programs to cut down hours of work in a community for activities that had previously been done by hand. I am proud of my mind, and I would not give it up even if it meant I could be a sporting hero.