Archetypes

When we first see people we often judge them in a split second based on our past experiences. This is not always conscious and usually happens without us trying. Making judgements and over generalizing people or things is stereotyping and can be harmful at times. However, these split second judgements sometimes have a bases in a truth somewhere down the line. This is where archetypes come in.

Archetypes are somewhat similar to stereotypes but a little bit different. Certain people and thins do tend to have similarites, but it does not mean that all of them are exactly the same. That is where stereotypes and archetypes differ. Take a second to think, there are probably some stereotypes in your life that you can think of. Here are some examples of common stereotypes. In addition, try to change these to archetypes. An example in my life that relates to this chapter is that I tend to think geeks are un-athletic and do not enjoy sports. However, that is a stereotype, while perhaps many are not athletic, I know there are people who are considered geeks who play and enjoy sports too.

Another important thing to note is the definite of geek. Many people use geek and nerd interchangeably, but they are different. Geeks are very knowledgeable or interested in a subject and nerds are practitioners.

Not until recently have the terms nerd and geek been viewed positively at all. For a long time it was really bad to be a nerd or a geek. They were seen as the people who weren’t good at sports, did not have a lot of friends, never got the girl and often dressed oddly. However, recently it has changing and people are becoming okay with being nerds and geeks and even trying hard to be called one, as it can be a compliment.

Personally, I don’t think theres anything wrong with being nerdy or geeky. I think it is cool to show interest in thing that you are passionate about. In the book, it says that geeks specialize in computer or engineering, but I would disagree with that. In my experience, people can be geeks about anything as long as they are interested enough. Lots of people who are huge fans of certain books and movies are what I consider geeks. For example, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings and Star Wars generally have huge followings. I would even have considered myself a Star Wars geek when I was younger, maybe even still. The picture above is a stereotype of one those geeks, but again, stereotypes cannot be taken too seriously. I used to love Star Wars but still played sports just as much as I geeked out about the movies

Overall, it would do you well to know the difference between geeks and nerds, archetypes and stereotypes. Stereotyping is never good. Although they often have a tiny grain of truth, it is not enough to justify the amount that is not truthful. Almost every stereotype cannot be trusted. There are too many different types of people to place any inside a box based on one thing. Athletes can love computers, geeks can be good at sports, old people can like rap and hip-hip, or any other kind of stereotypes you can think of, there is an exception to it. Yes there are archetypes, patterns and trends, and it is useful to know them, but do not rely on them. This is something that I am working on constantly and am becoming more aware of as I get older. The goal is to recognize trends, but not judge on them.