Quote:And that, actually, is the Geek Fallacy right there: That a million geeks think something is important doesn't make it important.
So can I, such as colonizing space without pretending anything.
I'll give you a real-world example, ripped straight from the original plotbunny. Consider the space program. From 1957 to 1969 it was one of the most heavily-hyped government programs ever, and it was all based in Cold War dick-swinging. Once the goal conditions of the space race had been met - once the US had landed men on the Moon and proved theirs was the superior dick - the hype evaporated. People stopped paying attention.
We as science fiction fans, as geeks, nerds, whatever, *didn't* stop paying attention, and have since lived in a state of low-level outrage at the rest of the world. *We* think space is important - exploration, exploitation, human survival, Destiny, doesn't matter why - and naturally we think that we're right.
Fenspace - and this is the part that's been lost in the "wow, cool!" - doesn't automatically agree with that assumption. The Mundanes aren't sitting at home gnashing their teeth at fandom's expansion into space, they just don't care. They've got better things to worry about, like coming up with sleeker iPods or reversing global warming or the next season of Lost. Space is at best a sideshow, at worst a round of fearmongering reports on CNN, but either way not a concern to 99.99% of mundanes. The reason fen have had the freedom to expand into the solar system - and beyond - isn't because of some innate superiority, it's because they're the only ones who want to.---
Mr. Fnord
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