How a stereotypical basement-dwelling, fat, game-addicted nerd changed his life

[kranky]

I considered not posting this because frankly, the article is pretty long. But the guy is a good writer and has a story to tell that will resonate with some people here. If you're a "tl;dr" person, you won't be able to finish it.

The turning point was when Jon Stewart publicly dissed the guy on his show for being a loser.

http://www.wired.com/magazine/2011/10/mf_hardwickexcerpt/

 

[Specop 007]

Love it!

Videogames make you feel like you’re actually doing something. Your brain processes the tiered game achievements as real-life achievements. Every time you get to the next level, hot jets of reward chemical coat your brain in a lathery foam, and it seems like you’re actually accomplishing stuff. But unless you get paid to play videogames, you’re kind of not accomplishing stuff.

This is not all bad news. If you’ve been obsessed with a game, you have already proven to yourself that you have the ability to focus. You know how lion cubs play around and it’s all cute ‘n’ stuff? They’re not playing for the fuck of it. They’re training to eviscerate things professionally later in life. If you’re a gamer, this is what you have been doing. This is the skill set that will help you accomplish most everything you want in life and make you “better” than your peers. Ultimately, isn’t that what we all want?

 

[Eli]

That was an excellent read, thanks for posting. :thumbsup:

 

[Soccerman06]

That really is toooo long... damn my nerdy lazyness

 

[shortylickens]

For me, it was joining the Navy.

 

[Specop 007]

That really is toooo long... damn my nerdy lazyness

Well just to clarify, if you read the article you will understand how you have the ability to read the article if you want to read the article.

Isnt that interesting?

 

[HamburgerBoy]

The article wasn't that long, but I don't see much relatable. The dude was a television cohost at 22 and apparently went around drinking and partying as much as he nerded things up, and I didn't see anything about him living with his parents.

EDIT: And it sounds like alcohol was his big problem anyways. 2/10 thread title.

 

[SKORPI0]

Oh, the same guy who hosted Singled Out with Jenny McCarthy on MTV 1995-1998.

 

[Soccerman06]

Well just to clarify, if you read the article you will understand how you have the ability to read the article if you want to read the article.

Isnt that interesting?

That really doesnt make me want to read it...

 

[jjzelinski]

That really is toooo long... damn my nerdy lazyness

Youre missing out, it's a good read.

 

[lxskllr]

Interesting, but he had a big help getting things together. He lucked into a TV gig early in life, so he had some connections to get things going again. Your average college dropout doesn't have the resources he has, and while the principle still applies, most people will find themselves in an /alright/ job they manage to tolerate, hoping they don't get stuck doing OT on Friday.

 

[RbSX]

paging l0cutus, paging l0cutus.

 

[0roo0roo]

considering what he does, it doesn't seem like he would have a job without his core audience of losers.

 

[TakeNoPrisoners]

Was a good read, but it kinda fell apart at the end.

 

[HeXen]

i suppose for some, gaming can be an addiction like any drug.
i only play a couple hrs a week average. thanks to BF3's crappy, not letting me play pos, i have now gone a solid 3 weeks without playing anything and likely many more, as i've not played anything else sicne last month.
i think a few good buggy games can cure some game addicts out there.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Since I'm not an alcoholic and have no trouble staying employed, I guess I'm a functional gadget/game addict. :shrug:

 

[yhelothar]

tl;dr Have some fucking foresight to hold back on immediate gratification to reap long term rewards.

 

[William Gaatjes]

I considered not posting this because frankly, the article is pretty long. But the guy is a good writer and has a story to tell that will resonate with some people here. If you're a "tl;dr" person, you won't be able to finish it.

The turning point was when Jon Stewart publicly dissed the guy on his show for being a loser.

http://www.wired.com/magazine/2011/10/mf_hardwickexcerpt/

Small sections of the text are unpleasantly familiar to me.

 

[mammador]

loser is subjective. i don't believe "better" exists in the human condition. white supremacists think they're inherently better than black people, but most baulk and cry and that lol... why is their opinion of any less weight than some Jon Stewart guy?

 

[Maleficus]

I thought it was a decent read

 

[JimmiG]

His problem seemed to be alcohol, not games. I was the typical "nerd" from about the age of 10 to 25 but I rarely drank.. still rarely do at 27.

 

[AyashiKaibutsu]

Haven't been fat in 6 years or so and never lived in a basement; I seem to be getting along just fine as a nerd.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

if I had worked with Jenny McCarthy I would immerse myself in XBox and drink to forget too.

 

[lsv]

For me, it was joining the Navy.

Homosexual sex, the easy way out :|

 

[El Guaraguao]

If you're happy and you-play-video-games and you know it, clap your hands /claps x2

If you're happy and you-play-video-games and you know it, clap your hands /claps x2

If you're happy and you-play-video-games and you know it. There is one way you can show it, is to learn how to manage your muthafuckin time /claps x2