How To Be A Geek Goddess 349
stoolpigeon writes "The geek world is dominated by those of the male persuasion. For those of us working in a technology related field, or who spend a considerable amount of time pursuing high tech leisure, we usually find women to be in the minority. I've seen considerable discussion over the years on how to change this imbalance but I think it is safe to say that right now that it remains. Many women are interested in using technology, they just don't want to dive in to quite the same depth. Or they may not be interested in the way most men approach it. Columnist and tech-writer Christina Tynan-Wood has attempted to come to their rescue with her book How To Be A Geek Goddess." Read below for the rest of JR's review.
I have to say that the title misled me. I picked this book up thinking that it would be perfect for my wife. I wouldn't call her a geek, she doesn't have the same passion for working with tech stuff that I have. But she is knowledgeable and knows quite a bit more about IT than many of my guy friends. She is very comfortable working with vi and has written a decent amount of C over the years for various embedded shops. Unfortunately she found the book to be overly basic and wasn't too interested. This book is about becoming conversant in the very basics, explained with an attempt to frame everything in terms of a woman's perspective. So if you are a woman who is already very comfortable in the IT space, or if you are thinking of buying this for someone like that, you may want to dig through a copy and see if it will be useful. My guess is that it wont. | How To Be A Geek Goddess | |
| author | Christina Tynan-Wood |
| pages | 343 |
| publisher | No Starch Press |
| rating | 7/10 |
| reviewer | JR Peck |
| ISBN | 978-1-59327-187-9 |
| summary | Practical advice for using computers with smarts and style. |
The other group that may still find this book to be useful, but to a lesser degree than they may like is anyone using any operating system other than windows. The first chapter, which discusses how to purchase a computer frames the operating systems question as "Apple or Windows?" There is no mention of any other option. As far as the options given, the author lands pretty firmly on the side of Microsoft and so when platform plays a role in topics covered later in the book it is pretty much from a Windows perspective. There are plenty of topics covered that are not really OS dependent, such as anything web related (which is a lot of the book) or the non-computer sections covering hardware like digital cameras, monitors and PDAs.
Someone who is an avid computer user and die hard fan of Linux or Apple systems may look at what I've just said and decide that this book is completely useless. And for them that is going to pretty much be the case. That leaves the question of who could use this book. It is quite possible that this could be an absolute God-send to someone who is just about computer illiterate and quite content to stay on the dominant platform of the day. By extension this could become a useful tool for the true Geek that wants off the support treadmill.
There are probably some out there who are really tired of answering questions about what type of PC to buy. Or having to drop by a relative or friend's house to set up wireless or the new printer. It could even be worse, being dragged into Frys Electronics or Best Buy and participating in purchasing a new Vista machine. The solution to busting out of that cycle could be handing over a copy of this book, and if it brings true freedom it could be worth every penny.
The topics covered in the book are dressed up in analogies to what may be considered more traditional female fare. If you find this to be bothersome, don't blame me, I'm just the messenger. Tynan-Wood discusses for instance, building a software "wardrobe." And I'd like to note that within the Windows space she does offer up many free (as in speech and beer) applications including the likes of The Gimp, Pidgin and Audacity. Tech accessories are handled in a section on "The Lust for Luxury Gear". Setting up a new system and getting things dialed in is part of the "housebreaking" process. In fact if you've ever flipped through an issue of Cosmo or Vogue, you should have a decent idea of the tone and style of discourse in this book.
All of the basics are covered including setting up a home network and how to set up proper security. Each section gives basic and practical advice on making decisions on hardware and software, almost always offering multiple options. And while the packaging is different than anything I've ever seen in a tech book, the underlying information is the same. Someone who reads this through will come away knowing the difference between adware, spyware and viruses as well as what a botnet is.
Dispersed amongst the regular text, which is accompanied by many black and white illustrations, are little "Dear Abby" type questions and their accompanying response. These give a good insight into the level of reader the book aims to help. One question answered is the following, "When my sister-in-law emails me files, the filenames always have three letters at the end that mean nothing to me. Files on my own computer don't seem to have them, so I thought it was one of her crazy systems. I deleted the letters and gave the files names I liked. Oops. You are probably laughing at me because I obviously did something stupid. Now my computer can't open any of those files. It gave me a good excuse not to read her novel or look at 2,000 blurry vacation photos but what did I do wrong?" The answer goes on to explain file types, extensions and some basics on managing them in windows.
Along with covering how to purchase and set up hardware the book covers the same for software. There is also information on security, not just local but also how to think about safely navigating the web and what is available there. The last two sections cover the social web and relationships on line, with everything from dating sites to cyber sex. There is also an entire section on watching over children and helping them to use computers safely.
The information is accurate and covers the basics very well, within the parameters I've described above. For the proverbial grandmother or mom at home, this book is probably going to give them all they need and probably just a touch more than they may want. I guess that is the bottom line. I think this book will give a novice a strong sense of confidence and independence. I am sure there are women out there who don't want to rely on anyone else to help them with computer issues but they don't want to really dig deep into highly technical information. This may be exactly what they need.
On the other hand, and I guess this comes from my more cynical side, I've dealt with plenty of men and women who don't know much about computers and they don't want to know. They seem to revel in their ignorance and are quite happy to just rely on others to keep things working for them. Unfortunately I am unaware of any way to make them read this or to make the information their own. Reading books to learn tends to fall into a geek category of its own. Until there actually is a series on this in Cosmo or they find a way to fit into American Idol or something, there will still probably be those who call on us to take care of their gear.
All that said, sometimes I forget that I'm a statistical anomaly. Most people don't run Linux, or OS X for that matter. Even more could care less about why they difference between ogg and mp3. For that mass of folks out there, especially the women, this may be the only computer book they ever find interesting. Someone like that would probably rate it a ten. I found the focus too narrow and the title set up expectations I didn't think it met so I've knocked it down to seven.
You can purchase How To Be A Geek Goddess from amazon.com. Slashdot welcomes readers' book reviews -- to see your own review here, read the book review guidelines, then visit the submission page.
Simple (Score:5, Funny)
Re: (Score:2, Interesting)
See my journals [slashdot.org] (NSFW) for 2. Actually you probably don't have to, you can guess from the "NSFW" considering what 3 is.
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
I want my 30 seconds back.
How To Be A Geek Goddess (Score:3, Funny)
How To Be A Geek Goddess
I want to be Athena!
Re:Simple (Score:5, Funny)
1. Be a woman. 2. ?????? 3. Profit!
2. Put out.
Re:Simple (Score:4, Insightful)
> >2. Put out.
> In my experience (hi there, female type person here, yes we do read this stuff), that's not at all necessary.
No. You just lead the poor, socially maldjusted geek guys to BELIEVE you MIGHT. Then your power over them is complete. Even if you never so much as look at them again.
Re:Simple (Score:4, Insightful)
2. Never use, or even think of, the word "goddess" in reference to yourself or other women.
Well, duh. (Score:4, Interesting)
All that said, sometimes I forget that I'm a statistical anomaly. Most people don't run Linux, or OS X for that matter. Even more could care less about why they difference between ogg and mp3. For that mass of folks out there, especially the women, this may be the only computer book they ever find interesting. Someone like that would probably rate it a ten. I found the focus too narrow and the title set up expectations I didn't think it met so I've knocked it down to seven.
I think it's safe to say that you're not the book's target audience.
For one thing, I'm assuming you're male.
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
I am a guy and my wife laughed at me every time she'd walk by when I was reading it. But if I wasn't clear - the book's title led me to believe the book was about a how a female geek could become more of a geek - instead it was how women who aren't geeks at all can get along using modern tech primarily in the pc realm.
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Because (keep in mind this primarily isn't the mindset of the Slashdot crowd, but of the general society as a whole) girls aren't nerds. Girls play with girly things and do girly stuff in a girly way. If a girl is seen anywhere non-girly, said general society will think "silly girl, that's for boys".
God knows I've had coworkers in tech support that had to deal with that mindset every friggin' day. She ended up just telling them to call back and disconnecting the call if they absolutely refused to have a
Re:Well, duh. (Score:5, Insightful)
I've always found it puzzling how a group of people (geeks/nerds) who have traditionally been given such a hard time as a kid growing up (picked on at school, picked last for the kickball team, etc) seem to be almost universally intolerant to women within the geek domain. It seems almost counter intuitive. If you have felt the pain of ostracization and lack of acceptance why turn around and inflict it on others? Is it a simple lack of social skills? Regressing to playground "pull the hair of the girl you like" behaviour? I don't get it.
Re:Well, duh. (Score:5, Insightful)
"If you have felt the pain of ostracization and lack of acceptance why turn around and inflict it on others?"
It's the same reason 70% of black people voted for Proposition 8 in California, after dealing with segregation and anti-miscegenation themselves: intolerance only breeds further intolerance. It's a sad fact of life.
Re:Well, duh. (Score:4, Insightful)
I've always found it puzzling how a group of people (geeks/nerds) who have traditionally been given such a hard time as a kid growing up (picked on at school, picked last for the kickball team, etc) seem to be almost universally intolerant to women within the geek domain. It seems almost counter intuitive. If you have felt the pain of ostracization and lack of acceptance why turn around and inflict it on others? Is it a simple lack of social skills? Regressing to playground "pull the hair of the girl you like" behaviour? I don't get it.
One persecuted minority taking out their frustration by persecuting an even smaller/weaker minority is common and universal through humanity. And, even if there is no active persecution, there is often an apathy to the struggles of others.
Re:Well, duh. (Score:4, Insightful)
Which is a good thing for those in power, because if all the people in minority groups actually helped each other out, there's a lot more of us than them.
Easy. (Score:5, Insightful)
Now that I'm 30, I realize why, as a young geek, I was, at least for a little while, mistreated.
Because I was CREEPY.
And, let's face it, people don't like creepy people.
This is doubly-true for members of the opposite gender. It's not that girls don't talk to nerds because they have something against people who are smart. They don't talk to nerds because nerds act creepy all the time!
I eventually learned how to not be creepy, and girls stopped treating me like a creep. Didn't get any dumber, didn't act any dumber, and in fact, my intelligence became a great asset - once I stopped acting like a creep.
Now, don't feel bad, I didn't become consciously aware of the problem until about a month ago, and I'm 30. But here are some signs that the real reason girls don't interact with you is because you are a creep:
- Do you regularly find yourself staring at girls you don't ever muster up the balls to talk to? Creepy!
- When you do eventually try to escalate a social relationship with a girl, to you find yourself asking someone who you've said a few sentences to in the course of the past week "Would you like to go out some time?"
- Do you arrange your movements to constantly "accidentally" run into a girl where you know where she'll be?
- Do you think every girl you happen to work with (class work, real work) who isn't mean to you must really like you?
So to bring this back on-topic, why is it that there are not more women in geek fields?
Because geek fields are the refuge of the socially inept, and the socially inept are creepy!
The only thing that needs to be done to get more women in geek fields is just teach geeks how to talk to the opposite sex without being total creeps about it.
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Just because your boss yells at you doesn't mean you are forced to go home and kick your dog.
I don't entirely disagree with what you are saying but at the end of the day we still exercise choice.
Good reply though. Don't usually get that from ACs.
Re:Well, duh. (Score:5, Insightful)
I thought the IT guy was going to cry for joy when he saw that not only had I brought my own computer for the new lab, but I had managed to set it up by myself and was reading Slashdot when he came to turn on my phone jack.
It makes me sad. I am not a computer geek. Not even a little. Why is it that having a uterus somehow means you can't do VERY BASIC THINGS?
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Uh,X chromosomes trigger a protein that depletes brain cells? And early onset osteoporosis is why girls can't do hardware. Dunno what it is that makes girls useless, I think it's the tendancy to ask questions. Guys whole shutting up and disappearing until they know the answer, and never owning up that they don't, is so much more productive.
The above is mostly venting related to my most favorite quote from some teammates on a high school robotics team "you're not a girl; you're useful". They kind of ignored
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...related to my most favorite quote from some teammates on a high school robotics team "you're not a girl; you're useful".
I think this quote sort of sums me up as a person. I'm not sure if my interpretation is how the speaker intended it. Did they mean that the person in question was not female and therefore useful, or useful and therefore not female (which is the option I tend toward)?
I feel strongly that if acting like a moron when you aren't, being unreasonable, being stupid, or any of the other wonderful traits so many women either have or are accused of having are what defines you as a woman, then I am not one.
That bein
Re:Well, duh. (Score:4, Insightful)
guy asks question, girl gives answer, guy nods and asks again, guy2 gives exact same answer as girl, guy listens to guy2
BTW, if this is happening to you a lot the problem is probably that the way you describe things is different than the way your audience learns things. The annoying third party is an impedance bridge, and can translate between the two communication styles.
These impedance bridges often do not even realize they are doing it.
Re:Well, duh. (Score:4, Interesting)
Having the ability to do very basic (computer related) things is not, in my experience, related to gender. Even (male) friends who are mechanically inclined are not necessarily computer literate. Part of this is training, part is inclination, but I think there really is something to having "The Knack" [youtube.com].
My wife literally can't figure out a cell phone. We tried several different models and finally got her one of those completely mindless do-nothing phones with big buttons that you only have to open to answer the call, and she still can't answer the phone two times out of three. Even if she manages to connect, you often hear "Hello? Hello? If you're talking I can't hear you. I'm hanging up now." (I suspect she's holding the phone upside down but haven't been able to prove it yet.) If she's on the road and needs to use a phone, she'll stop somewhere so she can use a "real" phone. I put a charger in her car and by her side of the bed, and her battery is still dead half the time. Computer? Anything more complicated than bringing up Spider, forget it.
Daughter is polar opposite. At 14, she's a power user of her Blackberry Curve and iPod Touch, owns a thinkpad (XP) and ASUS netbook (Linux) and has a KVM on her desktop so she can access both PC (XP Pro) and Mac (Leopard). She goes to art school (currently doing photography (film), ceramics and painting with acrylics) and is adept at Photoshop. She plays with Garage Band for relaxation. Her Christmas list is a dog-eared ThinkGeek catalog (the "mana" potions taste terrible) and her favorite T-shirt says "No, I won't fix your computer". (She wanted "slide to unlock" but I don't want her boyfriend to get ideas.) She has an intuitive grasp of computers that still startles me. When I'm stuck on a project (I often work from home) she'll walk by, make a seemingly random comment and later I'll realize that was the missing piece. When I ask her how she does it, she just shrugs. Last year when we visited my mom, she was complaining how her combination copier/fax/printer wouldn't work. Daughter borrowed a screwdriver, took it apart, found the paper guide that had popped loose, restored machine to operation. Mom was amazed. I said "yeah, get used to that".
I've read the pages of this book that Amazon has made available, and it strikes me as a way for a bright woman with an open mind to become a competent user, but not a geek goddess in any sense of the term of which I am familiar. I think true geek goddesshood is something you're born with. (See above.) However, although the title may be hyperbole, the book appears useful.
Re:Well, duh. (Score:4, Interesting)
Having the ability to do very basic (computer related) things is not, in my experience, related to gender. Even (male) friends who are mechanically inclined are not necessarily computer literate. Part of this is training, part is inclination, but I think there really is something to having "The Knack".
A perfect example would be my father. He IS a mechanic, and if there is some sort of problem that could possibly be solved physically, he will rush off to his workshop, and the next day present his solution. He couldn't use a computer to save his life. Getting him to use googlemaps was a herculean effort that I doubt we could repeat. I can't even get him to know to open firefox and type in the URL.
Yet he built his own bass boat. Designed a latch/hinge system so that his motor could be snapped on the back and manipulated from the front of the boat via pulleys and wire. He incorporated a sonar sensor into the keel, an anchor system, lighting, insulated compartments, and every pintel-mount you could imagine for his poles, tackle, etc. Aside from the electronics, everything on that boat was built from scratch by hand. The bearings and pulley for the anchor system, the articulated arms for holding the poles, even his seat cushions. Some were fashioned from salvaged teflon rollers, crazy stuff. Same thing with his hunting stands, and our patio.
If something can be built with mechanical knowledge and dexterous hands, he can do it. I left him alone at my house for a day and came home to find that he had ROTATED 90 degrees, a slab of concrete ( >1ton) that used to be my parking space so that it would be level and look nicer without cracking it.. He did it in 8 hours, by himself, using nothing but ropes, several steel pipes and some flat steel plates, and rocks. (I don't know how he did it, even to this day and I saw the aparatus that he had made to accomplish it.)
But ask him to google something... and there isn't a chance in hell.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
> Why does a 14 year old need a blackberry?
For the usual reasons (media, PDA functions) but primarily because it has the best keyboard for texting.
Re:Well, duh. (Score:4, Funny)
> That sounds like a list of wants, not a list of needs.....
Don't be disingenuous. "Need" was your word, not mine. Throwing out a technically incorrect term and then pouncing on it after I let it slide is a really nerdy, socially inept thing to do. Just thought you should know. Not the way to impress the girls.
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It's not that you CAN'T do very basic things. It's that on the whole, females reject these things as "stuff for the guys to handle".
Meanwhile, I think I speak for the majority of guys working in I.T. when I say that we're tired of being asked/expected to do such "technical" things as burning a CD for you, or showing you how to install the drivers for the new inkjet printer you bought.
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Fair enough, I suppose. But why should it be more surprising that a woman gets it? I'm working in a research lab. We're all supposedly educated professionals. It really shouldn't be that rare. And there is no good reason why it should be more rare for women.
I see it as negative attention. It makes me sad. I cry at night.
Re:Well, duh. (Score:5, Insightful)
Think of it this way. While most people are computer-illiterate, most of the computer-literate are men. They're just not used to seeing girls like them, so surprise is understandable. The insult is to the female gender, if anyone, not you specifically. In fact if you think about it, the insult is to the female gender excluding you and other tech-savvy girls.
These guys obviously have disdain for females, but their surprise is that you don't fit that image of the female they disdain. The attention isn't as negative as you may think. And don't discount sexuality.. maybe the surprise and jaw dropping should be considered positive, if annoying.
By the way I don't think I'm wrong in saying most "geeks" are male. A significant factor in development is the influence of society. Socializing forces push girls together into interactive, close-knit groups whose values include loyalty, kindness, and beauty. Boys are taught to be self-sustaining and competitive, and value hard work, strength, and intelligence. The
Obvously most other factors are equal, but girls (and boys too) have to fight or reject those social forces to end up on the other side
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Bottom line: if you can defy a stereotype, you can gain from it.
This is an excellent point. I have this weird feminine tendency to be overly selfless, which clearly needs to be crushed into oblivion. :)
Yep, there's another stereotype you need to defy. Ruthlessly exploit predictable behavior to your advantage. Hmmm... I guess there's a nerd/robot stereotype in there, actually :-P
Another example I just thought of: Wiliam Jackson, a slave of Confederate President Jefferson Davis, was apparently seen as so debased and dehumanized by his master that he allowed him to overhear strategic details of the military effort. Jackson took full advantage and gave these secrets to the Union. [cnn.com]
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
They shouldn't be more impressed that I can do it with a uterus.
It's not inpressive it's just novel.
There aren't many people like you and until that changes you will continue to be a sideshow attraction.
Re: (Score:2, Funny)
Because (keep in mind this primarily isn't the mindset of the Slashdot crowd, but of the general society as a whole) girls aren't nerds.
Utter claptrap. I can introduce you to five girl nerds, right now. And I'm fairly certain there's more where they came from.
Reality for young geeks (Score:3, Funny)
finger: woman not found
$ man woman
man: no entry for woman
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I think you might want to spend a little more time with the genuine article.
That laptop's not where you think it is.
How to write a title that gets attention. (Score:5, Insightful)
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Well, unfortunately, that goes for a lot of books.
However, I indeed expected a bit more, reading the book's title. But I guess you can't really tell someone to become a geek, just like you can't just tell a scientist to become a christian/muslim/pastafarian.
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
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I think when all of us read the title, we imagined Abby from NCIS. [wikipedia.org] Upon discovering what the book was really about, we were disappointed.
I think most geek/nerd guys dream date would be Abby. Present company excluded. She's a great woman..........just slightly hyper.
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
I think she passed that class with flying colors.
I must have been reading /. too long... I first read that as flying chairs.
All or nothing i'm afraid. (Score:5, Funny)
Many women are interested in using technology, they just don't want to dive in to quite the same depth.
When it comes to technology you have to be balls deep.
Re:All or nothing i'm afraid. (Score:5, Insightful)
Many women are interested in using technology, they just don't want to dive in to quite the same depth.
When it comes to technology you have to be balls deep.
Joking aside (nice one, though), you make a very good point. That was the one part of the article that struck me regardless of gender. This is why we even have different levels of geeks (from script kiddie to Ubergeek). It's all a matter of dedication and passion.
That being said, perhaps there is a parallel between the gender dominance and the dedication and passion it takes. I'm not saying that women don't have the dedication and passion, but true Ubergeeks tend to sacrifice a lot (like a social life and even personal grooming habits to varying degrees) to get to and stay on top of their game.
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I used to think that too. Most women are not interested in technology but they could be as good at it that the most talented (male) hackers are. But there are six billion people in this world and I can't think of a single open source project headed by a female programmer. Not even seem a female patch contributor (but pseudonyms makes it hard sometimes). I have never personally met a female programmer that was above average. The best female programmers didn't even play in the same division as the good male o
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Re: (Score:2, Insightful)
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(like a social life and even personal grooming habits to varying degrees)
Oh c'mon... most ubergeeks are willing to sacrifice WAY more than that. Hell, I don't think those are even considered sacrifices.
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Return of the Jedi (Score:5, Funny)
Tell her all she really needs is a Princess Leia slave garb costume; Every geek will drool.
why would a woman want to be a geek goddess ?? (Score:2)
With the exception of appealing to a potential silicon valley soon to be millionaire why would a woman desire to appeal to a geeks nature ?
I'm gonna get so killed for this, but one of the reason geeks are geeks is because there social ineptness allows for incredible amounts of free time to work on stuff like Linux ? or hacking my iPhone.
Re:why would a woman want to be a geek goddess ?? (Score:5, Funny)
Three words:
Low. Hanging. Fruit.
Re: (Score:2)
Three words:
Low. Hanging. Fruit.
Indeed, my fruit does hang very low.
Thank you for noticing.
Re:why would a woman want to be a geek goddess ?? (Score:5, Funny)
That's right.
"The odds are good, but the goods are odd."
~ said by girls in engineering schools.
Re:why would a woman want to be a geek goddess ?? (Score:5, Funny)
That's right.
"The odds are good, but the goods are odd."
~ said by girls in engineering schools.
"There's slim pickings but the pickings ain't slim."
~Said by men at engineering schools.
Re:why would a woman want to be a geek goddess ?? (Score:5, Funny)
Three words:
Low. Hanging. Fruit.
Reminds me of the old Richard Pryor joke about two brothers walking across a long span of railroad bridge. Towards the middle one of them decides he has to take a piss and can't wait until he makes it to the other side. He says he's going to piss and his friend says what the hell and unzips too. "Water's cold," the first says to the second. "Yeah. Deep, too."
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
The joke is that black men have large penises. While standing on a bridge trestle many feet above the water, they are still able to reach it.
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allows for incredible amounts of free time to work on stuff like Linux ? or hacking my iPhone.
I see where you're going with this. You're trying to get one of the /. geeks to hack your phone for you. Well-played young man well-played.
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The same reason you see some girls in male dominated sports, they like to be around areas where there's so few girls that the ones there get a lot of attention from the guys.
Be a cute girl. Go to a comic book convention. Bask in the attention.
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Although after getting a job and being surrounded by a few more others who are interested in technology (plus the boom in it), socializing and being a geek is a thing of the past, if not a new fad. Hell, all the kids use cell phones and play games on their cell phones now (I remem
How awful (Score:3, Interesting)
Sounds miss-titled. Looks like it's relying on trendy, targeted marketing for sales. Possibly a bit insulting. Wouldn't buy it for anyone whose intelligence I respected.
Miss-titled (Score:2)
Seven or Ten? (Score:5, Insightful)
If you found the focus to narrow, does the book claim to cover more ground? If not, then that issue can simply be explained by the fact that you are not their targeted audience. If you think that the title set up certain expectations, it is simply a case of you judging the book by its cover. That you are not their intended audience is not any fault of the book, if they did not claim that you are their intended audience.
If you think it's a 10 for their intended audience, then rate it a 10, with the caveat that the book has a specific type of audience in mind (which you have done very well throughout the review). I just don't see why you would possibly lower its rating simply because you are not their target audience.
Re:Seven or Ten? (Score:5, Insightful)
The intended audience seems to be non-geek girls who like being patronised and want to use Windows (but not understand it) so the title is misleading... this book will not turn you into a geek or a geek-goddess....
How to be a Greek Goddess... (Score:5, Funny)
Oh wait... that title doesn't say greek does it? Nevermind.
Anonymous Coward? (Score:3, Insightful)
About ten years ago I halted a lecture at a major physics department to haul out a post-doc cad who was dissing a female guest lecturer. She was presenting a Nobel-replacement lecture, and this dick would not shut up. You want to attract women into science, and actually see them in the halls? Shut the fuck up, and treat them with respect. They know more than you.
Missing the point? (Score:2, Insightful)
Easy (Score:2)
Do your job as well as you can, and don't bring attention to the fact that you are female. They guys will know that. But bringing it up all the times makes it difficult to have a good professional relation with the other guys. Problems happened when you compensate in two ways become to passive and seem like you don't know what you are doing or too aggressive where they try to avoid you, and afraid that they will need to walk on eggshells where every decision you make needs to be second guessed. Have work wi
Book needs a different title (Score:2)
From the review it sound like it should be titled : How To Be A Geek Goddess Poser
The description makes it sound like it is for women who aren't really interested in geeky pursuits per se, but find them selves working with/forced to socialize with geek type people. it's seems like the people this book is targeted toward are only interested in the most superficial aspects of geekdom in order to try to give the appearance of fitting in with a certain type of crowd.
Typically its.... (Score:4, Insightful)
You can't try to become a geek, you just are (Score:5, Insightful)
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Agreed. Any attempts to 'act geek' will seem trite by comparison to those of us who were nerdy before 'geek was chic'.
Being a geek 99% of the time means enduring some sort of social torment before you can win over the rest of the mortals with your sheer genius.
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that only puts you up against people who really are geeks/nerds/tech heads/etc and shows just how much fail you really are
Yes, I've lost count of the number of people I've sent away crying by telling them they are NOT a geek.
Why Care? (Score:2)
I don't think we should worry about "gender imbalances" in different fields. We'd all like to think "IT" is special, but it's just another career. Let's level with ourselves here.
Plus, who wants to spend long hours at work with pizza-stained unfashionable people with poor social skills under the constant fear of being outsourced to a $3/hr PhD in Timbuktu?
Just do what you like and do it well.
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Ah, but until we're all paid the same domestically, the complaints will continue.
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We'd all like to think "IT" is special, but it's just another career. Let's level with ourselves here.
Except it's only recently that IT/development have become "just another career", pre-dot com it was pretty uncommon for someone to just decide to work in IT compared to the situation post-dot com where lots of suit-wearing career-bots have joined IT, thank Bob I work on a team where all the guys have beards...
/Mikael
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Finally! (Score:2, Funny)
What women want (Score:2)
Or... and I'm going out on a limb here... many women don't want men telling them what they want. "Just don't want to dive into quite the same depth"? Dear lord.
Comment removed (Score:3, Insightful)
Solution (Score:3, Funny)
I've seen considerable discussion over the years on how to change this imbalance
Just have a lot of geek guys read the Goddess book. Some will want to convert.
America's Digital Goddess, anyone? (Score:2)
Almost 100 comments now and nobody's pointed out that Kim Komando [komando.com] has already claimed the title "America's Digital Goddess" [komando.com]?
I mean it says it right on her website so it must be true.
And no, she doesn't run Linux. She could possibly have a beowulf clustrer, though.
Definitional problem with the term "Geek" (Score:2)
So... they aren't geeks. What's the problem again?
All a woman really needs to be a Geek Goddess (Score:2)
is to be as good with technology as a man is or better. She ought to be able to pull her own weight as anyone else can. She should not weasel her way out of work by claiming to be female and that gives her special treatment to goof off by gossiping, or calling other coworkers names, or calling the men idiots because we write code differently than she does, or cry when she does not get her way.
A Geek Goddess should be treated as an equal to a man, there should be no gender discrimination, that is how employm
WAIT! (Score:2)
What happened to be yourself? (Score:3, Insightful)
Girls don't listen to this, just be yourselves dammit!
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Male geeks work on something until they fail or succeed, never saying that they're potentially failing along the way for fear of rejection from fellow geeks.
However female geeks give a running commentary of their efforts, learning and discoveries via their Blog, Facebook, Twitter and numerous other places. It's exactly the opposite, except some male geeks will jump in to guide or give the solution straight away, to gain geek cred points (but nothing sexual, ha!).
Male geeks need sites like StackOverflow wher
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I think of someone who absolutely loves technology and spends lots of time with it out of choice as a geek. My wife is an incredibly competent programmer and loves math, but she doesn't really live for it. She is very happy going nowhere near a computer for days sometimes. She's really into sports and stuff too, which is somewhat anti-geeky in my mind.
That said - since I wrote this review a couple weeks ago I gave the book to a neighbor who doesn't know jack about anything to do with using a comp
You might be wrong (Score:2)
My wife is an incredibly competent programmer and loves math, but she doesn't really live for it. She is very happy going nowhere near a computer for days sometimes. She's really into sports and stuff too, which is somewhat anti-geeky in my mind.
I'm happy going nowhere near a computer for days sometimes too. In fact I crave it sometimes. I find a camping trip to be an excellent way to reenergize. Or a few hours in my wood shop.
Does NOT make me less of a geek, though. I'll still think about interrup
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I know what you mean -- I happen to enjoy working with very competent female programmers. (I mean real server-side programming, too, not just HTML or something. :P)
However, the vast majority of them don't seem to have any interest in computing as a science -- it just seems to be a job. Mention anything outside of that which is immediately applicable to their jobs, any most of the time they've never heard of it...
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Ridiculous assertion. Men and women approach problems differently, but that is not too say one is better than the other. For starters, distill out the socialization aspect, and then compare. I'm sure some researcher has tried, but I have not the time to look.
I will say, however, I am often surprised by the trepidation with which women approach electronic devices. Perhaps because of a male-designed UI, or maybe learned helplessness, or it could just be that a man is more likely to push a button, pull a lever
Re:This is sort of ridiculous (Score:4, Interesting)
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Probably, women take the approach, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it," whereas for men, it's more like "If it ain't broke, break it."
The whole idea of putting it back together into a functional form is little more than an afterthought, when after it has been broken, you need it but only have the pieces.
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By your argument, both straight women and gay men should excel at video games that make use of joysticks, and straight men and lesbians should be very adept with those stupid little nubbin keyboard mice things.
Or vice versa for the straight people, depending on how much of the time they spend doing it themselves.
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being good with money has nothing to do with gender. In fact, I would lean towards women being more fiscally responsible.
So which is it? You can't have it both ways.
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No, it's pretty much true. Most women do not use logic or reasoning. They can't even manage money properly. I for one do not want the vast majority of women to be programmers that would be working on anything of mine.
Looking at your comments page [slashdot.org] (out of vague curiosity to see if you're a genuine troll or just an ordinary user saying something vaguely trollish), I notice that this is your second comment. Your only other comment was made way back in June 2005.
WTF? You came back after three years to say that? Or did the original owner, realising that despite its relatively high number it was more desirable than a new seven-digit account and flog it to you on eBay for $3.27?
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Looking at your comments page [slashdot.org] (out of vague curiosity to see if you're a genuine troll or just an ordinary user saying something vaguely trollish), I notice that this is your second comment. Your only other comment was made way back in June 2005.
The "strong, silent" type, evidently.
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You are confusing masculinity with misogyny. The two are quite different. You clearly possess the latter rather than the former.
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You mean the girl who, once you get past her somewhat confusing exterior, is actually capable, passionate, and a friend for life?
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I don't know about her not looking like a goddess. Granted, more Athena than Aphrodite, but were she a geek her looks would not disqualify her from geek goddess-dom.
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HUmph ... kinda reminds me of Aileen Wuornos [wikipedia.org]
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Yes, and even more unfortunate, the book was written by a woman, who *thinks* she knows what she's talking about and the gender she thinks she's talking to.
But the mysogeny isn't limited to tech/IT crowds. I see way more sexism in a locker room full of jocks than I do with geeks, and yet the jocks get all the dates, so who are the geeks to learn social skills from?
The geeks think it's acceptable to talk that way, because the women put up with the harassment when it's coming from good-looking dipwads.
Frankly