When you think about it, there are a lot of things about genealogy that make it the perfect hobby for geeks. Although genealogy once was considered a pass time for the elders to partake in, this is no longer the case. Perhaps all those television programs that have delved into genealogy are exactly what has increased the popularity of the hobby. In any case, genealogy is something that could very easily attract geeks.
Now, before we go any further, let me make it clear that I am not picking on people who are geeks, or nerds, or whatever the proper term is. By the way, if you’ve ever gotten into an argument with someone about which of those two words is the proper term to use, based on a series of characteristics that you can rattle off, then you very likely are at least one of the above.
I, myself, am a geek. I spent a lot of years playing Dungeons and Dragons, and have been playing World of Warcraft since slightly before Burning Crusade. I love Star Trek, and played with Star Wars action figures when I was a kid. I love reading science fiction and fantasy, and spend at least a couple of hours every week doing podcasting. So, I’m not making fun of the geeks out there – I am one of you.
Here are some reasons why genealogy is the perfect hobby for geeks:
You can do it online.
There are plenty of genealogy related websites that you can become a member of and search through right from your own computer. The majority of geeks are really comfortable, and quite adept, at navigating their way through the internet in order to find some obscure fact they are searching for.
You get to play with numbers.
Although numbers are not my forte, plenty of geeks love to play around with numbers and equations. How old was your ancestor when she died? What was the age difference between this ancestor, and his wife? How young was she when she had her first child? When you really get into genealogy, you can start figuring out things like ancestors who are your second cousins, twice removed. It can be complex, and lots of geeks enjoy complex systems.
You get to spend time searching for obscure facts.
Geeks that really get into the story aspect of things will find it fascinating to learn all the little details of their ancestor’s lives. What kind of job did he have? What was it like for that ancestor when he was at school? How did this ancestor get such an unusual first name? Those who proudly describe themselves as “lore nerds”, who enjoy trying to hunt down details from the personal history of a fictional character in a video game or fantasy novel will really dig this part of genealogy.
Family trees are fun to play with.
Once you have a basic understanding of what a family tree is, and how it works, you can easily apply it to other geek interests, and impress your friends. You could totally make a family tree connecting some of the characters in LOST. You know that Luke and Leia are fraternal twins, and who their father is, so you could build from that. These are just a few examples of the fun that geeks can have with genealogy.
Image by Phil! Gold on Flickr